


Jail Bird

by Wynja



Category: Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: M/M, Sladin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 82,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25316722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wynja/pseuds/Wynja
Summary: Robin ends up in hell on earth. For the first time in his life, he’s truly alone and vulnerable, and Slade… he loves it. Minds, morals, bones… all breakable, maybe adapting is the only chance of survival... Sladin. Explicit. My patented mix of darkness and humor.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Robin - Relationship, Sladin - Relationship
Comments: 164
Kudos: 183





	1. New Situation

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit, new story! 4 chapters written so far, and I know how it will end, but not how many chapters there will be. Input through out will be appreciated, and encouragement as well, of course! The story will be updated once a week, on Thursdays (for me, could be late Wednesdays or early Fridays for you, of course, and I might update at random times in the day). Enough small talk, let’s get this started.

The last couple of weeks had been the craziest in Robin’s life. It had all started when he had woken up- no. No, it had started a little before that. It had started with him finally taking down Slade. Well. _Them_. It had taken his whole team, as well as Titans East and a well-rehearsed plan that worked perfectly. Slade had ended up in custody and shortly thereafter been sentenced to a special security prison for 15 years. It seemed like a short amount of time to the teen, but the man had had good lawyers and probably made a lot of deals to reduce his sentence. Anyway, it was cause for celebration, and celebrate they did. First both teams together, but after a few hours they broke up into smaller groups, depending on interests. Robin, Speedy and Aqualad had ended up at a gay nightclub. Robin wasn’t old enough to enter, really, or to drink, but they had been invited in with open arms. The alcohol had flowed. The teen was usually very cautious with such things, but with what had happened, his victory, it had to be celebrated. The last thing he remembered was the bar and the music pumping, and him watching Speedy and Aqualad dancing on the other side of the vast, crowded room.

Then he had woken up. He was used to wake up in all kinds of ways. Happy, energetic, miserable, sick, in various degrees of pain or danger… but not with police officers aiming guns at him, shouting that he was under arrest. Not with three naked, dead men surrounding him on the bed. Not covered in blood and holding a knife. Nope, not the way he usually woke up at all.

Then the circus began, and not the fun kind. He was detained, no bail. A judge claimed he was to be tried as an adult as he was an emancipated minor and treated as a special risk due to his knowledge, skills and contacts. Speaking of contacts, he had been informed that his team had been strictly forbidden to see him and that he was being kept at a secret location so no one would try to free him. The only blessing in all this was that he had been allowed to keep his mask, after pleading that if his identity became known, other people’s lives would be at risk. He was therefore tried as Robin of the Teen Titans.

He expected that he would be set free. His defense proved that he had been drugged, and also raped. Robin had no memories of this, but he sure has hell hadn’t planned on losing his virginity to three unknown men. He felt dirty. Soiled. Unfortunately, the prosecution painted that picture too. He had woken up, they claimed, and had understood what had happened. There had been a knife, and Robin had used his very special skills with blades in revenge. Then the drugs had made him unconscious again, long enough for a call coming in to the police about something going on in the apartment.

Robin claimed he was innocent. The call had been anonymous. Most likely the killer, the teen figured. But the jury went with the prosecution. There had been mitigating circumstances, the judge ruled. It was an act of self-defense, but at the same time so brutal, like executions more than a fight. He got ten years. No parole.

Robin felt numb as he was walking down the hallway, following a warden, guards on each side. It was all gray, all concrete. Cold. Joyless. Hard.

“This is not a regular prison. This is high risk prisoners only. We don’t do ‘treatments’ here, and we don’t care if you psychos rip each other apart. There’s no contact with the outside. No guards walking among you. No one to complain to and, more importantly, no one to try to take hostage. Doors are opened and closed remotely. All angles of every room filmed twenty-four seven, and the feeds are always monitored. Keep your head down, kid. Way down… if you know what I mean…” The man smirked at him over his shoulder and the teen sneered back. He was chained, hands and feet, of course, and dressed in the orange scrubs that all prisoners here wore.

“As you don’t have meta powers you won’t have to wear a dampener collar. If you are good you won’t have to wear a shock collar either, we’ll see about that…” the man said. “We’ll give it a month. If you’re still alive, I’ll make a decision.”

“Thanks,” the teen grunted.

“You’re welcome,” the warden said, overly pleasantly. “Now, here we are. Home sweet home.”

It was a steel door in a long row of steel doors.

“You’ll go in, turn around, and put your hands through this opening,” the warden informed him, indicating a slot in the door. “Then your chains will be taken off. Fail to comply and you’ll have to face the other inmates bound. You don’t want to do that.”

The teen nodded. As the door opened, he shuffled inside and followed the instructions. When his hands were unlocked the feet cuffs somehow fell away too, and the chain was quickly pulled away. The teen rubbed at his wrists.

“Well hello, Robin,” a voice rumbled behind him. He gasped and spun around. A tall, muscular, white haired man was leaning against the far wall, smirking at him. The voice and the missing eye, covered by an adhesive black patch, had told Robin who he was.

“Wait!” Robin called to the warden. “Let me out! There’s been a mistake!”

“Really?” the warden drawled.

“I was the one that put this man away, we’re enemies, you can’t lock me up with him!”

“Tough luck, I’m sure you’ll find more people you’ve pissed off in here. Have fun,” the man said and the slot closed.

“Shit…” Robin hissed to himself and faced Slade again. He had never seen the man without his mask. He had been taken away in full uniform and the trial had been held behind closed doors and top security, pretty much like his own.

“Shit, indeed,” the man chuckled. “How nice of you to become a killer to come and see me… you must have really missed me,” the man purred.

“Like a rash,” the teen growled. “How did you know, anyway? The asshole out there said there’s no contact with the outside world.”

“We get some TV privileges if we’re good,” the man said. “Are you going to be good, Robin? Or are you going to be dead?”

The hero knew he was cornered. He was waiting for the attack, and a split second later he decided that the best defense was a good offense, and flew at the man.

“No, you don’t,” Slade said and caught his fist.

Robin yelled out in pain as his arm was twisted and he was forced to the floor.

“We are being watched. They probably just docked a few points off your ‘good boy’ score just for that, idiot boy,” the man growled at him.

“I’m… not… gonna… let… you…” the teen started.

“No one is going to stop me from doing anything. I could kill you right now. The only thing that might happen is that I’ll lose my TV-privileges. Do you understand? Unless you can kill me first, and you can’t, you have no chance in hell in here. Unless you listen to me. Understood?”

“Go to hell!” the teen snarled through his pain.

“You just joined me here,” the man chuckled. “I’m waiting, Robin. Tell me you understand, or I’ll have to start breaking things.” The man shifted the pressure slightly and made the teen yell out again as hot, blinding pain shot through his whole spine.

“Ok! Ok, fine! I understand!” he yelled.

”No, you don’t, but you will. If you survive the first week,” the man almost sighed and let him go.

Robin scrabbled to his feet and away from the man. Not that he was able to go far. The cell contained a bunk bed to one side, a sink built into the wall and a partition that hid a metal toilet bowl. The wall across from the beds had a sunken in glass partition, with a screen and a digital watch behind it. The ‘glass’ must be unbreakable, Robin assumed, and he spotted the cameras too, also protected by the same type of glass. There was also something that seemed to be speakers. That was it. Robin’s eyes darted around as he started to feel like the walls were moving in. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t-

Suddenly pain exploded across his cheek and his head was snapped to the side.

“Get it together. No use in panicking,” Slade barked at him. “Breathe. The Bat must have taught you to, surely?”

The teen knew what the man meant; ways to calm down in the face of panic. It meant the difference between life and death. He tried to remember and had soon calmed down enough to come back to himself. He slowly moved to the sink and splashed his face.

“Is… Is the water safe to drink?” he asked, trying to sound as humble as he could. It apparently amused the man, who chuckled.

“Yes. At least I haven’t heard differently. Not that it would affect me.”

That made the teen realize something and his eyes widened.

“You’re not wearing a collar! They said meta humans had collars!”

“Yes, well, all they could prove was healing ability. They don’t see that as a threat,” the man smirked.

“But that’s not all! I’ll tell them!”

“Tell who?” the man smirked.

“I… someone!” Robin said. The man laughed in his face.

“You won’t be talking to anyone, little bird, at least anyone who will listen.”

The teen scowled, but averted his eyes. He hated to admit that the man was probably speaking the truth.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be declared innocent. He had been drugged and raped! He was a victim! He had always thought that the justice system worked. Sure, there were mistakes, sure there was some corruption, but he had always, deep down, thought that it mainly worked. But here he was. And if he had been in here with the person whose fault it was that he was here… he quickly glanced up at Slade. The man hadn’t moved, he was just watching him with an amused look in that single eye, but the man had every reason to hate him. Kill him. And Robin didn’t doubt for a moment that he could. There was something the man had said, though…

“You… said that if I survived the week…? Listened to you…?”

“Yes?”

“Does that mean… you’re… not going to kill me?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. First and foremost, I’d like to watch you suffer. It will be very entertaining to see how the Boy Wonder does in here. You have no friends here. No daddy Bats. No money, no influence. Some will hate you for personal reasons, some will hate you because you’re a hero. What will you do to survive, I wonder?”

“I… I just won’t leave the cell, then!” the teen declared.

His words were met with another chuckle. “You don’t have a choice, if you want to eat,” the man said. “Besides, when the doors are open, they are open to anyone. If you don’t go to them, they will come to you.”

Robin felt a pang of fear at those words. He was brave, yes, but he wasn’t stupid. He felt his head spin a little, and it wasn’t just residue from the backhand he had received from Slade. The man was blocking the bunkbed so Robin just slid down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

“I’m… really gonna die…” he mumbled. “I can’t fight a whole prison. They…. They’ll rip me apart.”

“Very possibly, I’ve seen it literally happening,” the man stated. “But it might not be that bad. You’re young, you’re pretty, most men in here won’t see daylight again, they might be willing to protect you… for your services.”

“Never!”

“You’d really chose death? Idiotic. You’re even gay,” the man pointed out. “Most pretty boys do quite well in here, no matter how straight they claimed they were when they got here. Let’s just say a cock up your ass isn’t as painful as an arm.”

The teen paled. “They…?”

“Yup. The guy they ripped apart, remember?”

“Shit…”

“You have one more advantage,” the man said. “You can fight. Sure, so can plenty of people here, but without their powers some are pretty useless. And I doubt anyone, me excluded of course, can match your skills.”

Robin gaped at the encouraging words. “Are… are you trying to make me feel better?”

“You’re still going to get fucked within the next 78 hours, no doubt, but if you’re not going to be smart about it and bend over willingly, at least you’re going to break a few noses.”

“Great,” Robin muttered.

“Yes, isn’t it?” the man smirked. “Take my advice and find a strong daddy to protect you.”

“You make me sick.”

“For saving your life?” the man smirked. “Mammoth is in our block. I hear he’s not very good when it comes to keeping up with personal hygiene, but he might be a good bet.”

“No way in hell. Our block? What does that mean?”

“This facility holds five hundred prisoners, but no one wants all of them to get together, so we’re divided into groups of fifty. This area contains four blocks, each block uses the facilities on a rotating schedule apart from a common room that we have to ourselves. So at least there’s a limited amount of people that will come after you. That’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Very,” the teen grunted, but actually felt a little bit better. Fifty people. How many of them would be a threat? How many of them would be interested in hurting him? He hoped his situation wasn’t as bad as Slade had first made it sound. His thoughts were interrupted by a buzz that made him jump.

“Proceed to the cafeteria,” a tinny voice said as there was a click from the door.

“Lunch,” Slade stated and stretched. He looked down on the teen. “You don’t want to be late, or the food might run out.”

“What? They have to feed us at least, right?” Robin objected.

“Do they?” the man asked and arched an eyebrow at him. “Get off your fucking feet or I’ll leave you behind.”

He didn’t say that was a bad thing, but it was implied, so Robin shot up and trudged after the man. There were led lights shaped into arrows in the floor, the hero now noticed. They seem to light up the route they were supposed to take. He confirmed that much when they came to an intersection and only arrows in one direction were lit up. Ok, they at least told him where to go even without Slade as a guide.

The hallways were wide and, so far, empty.

“Why aren’t all the other doors opening?” Robin asked.

“Not all of them are occupied, and they like to spread people who belong to the same group out. It’s not beneficial for them if you know who your neighbor is. You might get up to no good.”

“Oh…” was all the teen said. Now he heard footsteps behind them and all of a sudden there was a hand caressing his ass. The teen jumped and twisted around with a snarl.

Behind him was this very tall lizard-like creature who had disproportionally long arms. All the teen could think was that he’d be difficult to hit if he knew how to keep his guard up. He seemed strong too, wirily muscles under the worn looking orange scrubs. Sharp teeth grinned at him.

“Hello pretty… I’m looking forwards to later,” he more hissed than spoke, and then passed them.

“That was Zaid. He’s not from earth. Has two dicks. You can imagine what he likes to do with them,” Slade informed him.

Robin shuddered. He could. As they entered the so-called cafeteria, everyone they saw leered at the teen. Many licked their lips. Some snarled. It seemed all eyes were on him, and none seemed disinterested. As far as Robin could tell they all either wanted to fuck him or kill him, most probably wanted to do both. He stepped a little bit closer to Slade.

Back straight, but avoiding eye contact as much as he possibly could, the teen followed the mercenary to a line where trays were pushed out to the prisoners through a slot in the wall. A paper plate full of brown mush greeted the teen.

“No veggies or fruit?” Robin asked. He thought he kept his voice low, talking to himself, but some people here had great hearing.

“You’re the fruit here, cutie,” someone snickered.

“We’d all like a bite of you,” someone else said.

“Can we actually eat him when we’re done, that would be so hot…” someone else said. It didn’t sound like he was joking.

Robin now walked so close to Slade that they were touching. He wouldn’t admit it, but it was somehow reassuring to stick to someone you knew, even if that person also wanted you dead. The teen had heard some disdain in Slade’s voice when he talked about the other inmates, however, so he hoped the man hadn’t made a lot of friends here.

The mercenary and his shadow walked over to an empty table and sat down. The cafeteria was huge, with metal tables with benches secured to the floor. The tables were quite far apart, possibly to minimize aggression, the teen thought.

“Mind if we join you?” a group of men asked, eyes on the teen.

“Yes,” Slade said in a clipped tone and the men dispersed immediately.

“Thanks,” Robin whispered.

“I didn’t do it for you, kid, Bill has really bad B.O.”

“Ew.”

“He likes to make newcomers lick his armpits clean.”

“I can’t tell what makes me gag more, that or the food,” the teen muttered.

“Don’t be spoiled, you clearly haven’t been in the army,” the man snorted.

“Clearly,” the teen said and stared down into the brown goo. He had realized that everything was paper, even the tray and the spoon he was holding was some sort of hard cardboard, not plastic. It was slowly getting soggy so he decided to eat before it was useless. It was probably a security thing, he assumed. The taste was bland but not too bad. There was a carton of what seemed like some kind of juice with the food. Then the teen spotted a small paper cup next to it.

“Pills?” he asked.

“Yup. They say it’s vitamins.”

“But… it’s not…?”

“Probably to calm things down. Some take them. Some store them and take them all when they think they have enough.”

“What? Why?”

“Escape.”

“How would that- oh.”

“Most are in here for life. If you end up in a dark place… it seems like a good option.”

“You mean if ripping people apart doesn’t amuse you enough?” the teen growled, refusing to feel bad for the criminals. 

Slade snorted. “Something like that.”

“Do… you take the pills?”

The man snorted again. “No. I leave them.”

“Then I will too,” Robin decided, and got an amused look from the man, which made him blush.

“What, you said to take your advice!” he defended himself. “Besides, getting drugged is how I ended up here.”

“I think stabbing three men is how you ended up here,” Slade smirked at him.

Robin didn’t dignify that with a reply, instead he quickly finished his lunch and then dared to look around. There were still way too many eyes on him. One pair he recognized. As soon as their gazes met the hulking bulk of Mammoth stood up and ambled over, looking very much like he was close to dragging his knuckles.

“I’ll crush you, Titan!” he growled.

“Fuck this,” Robin grunted, pushed himself back from the table and stood up. “Enough. I’m not going to be afraid of a Neanderthal with an embarrassing excess of hair follicles.”

“Who?” asked Mammoth.

“He’s talking about you!” a helpful person shouted.

That made the man roar and charge.

Robin easily danced to the side. “Olé!” he exclaimed, enraging the man even more. “Listen Mammoth, remember when I broke your nose?” the teen asked.

“Yeah…? That hurt… Imma break yours!” the man growled.

“No, I’m going to break yours again, if you’re not a good boy,” the teen claimed. “Go back and finish lunch. Someone might take your food.”

The man’s head swiveled to his seat and his eyes narrowed. “They wouldn’t dare!”

“No, you’re right, they are probably too scared of you,” the teen admitted. “You’re the big boy in here, right? The leader? Everyone is afraid of you?” he heard grunts of disagreement from people around them and smirked. No one wanted a half wit, no matter how strong, to lord over them, but Mammoth swelled with pride.

“Yes!” he claimed.

“Good, then I think we should be friends. It wouldn’t look good if I had to break your nose again, would it?”

“You won’t!” the man growled.

“But Mammoth, how many times have I done it by now?”

The big lug seemed to count. Slowly and with problems. “Three?”

“Five. But ok, we can do it again. Will you need any help, you think?”

“Of course not!”

“But I’m sure everyone here wants to help their great leader,” Robin pointed out.

“No help! I’ll break your legs if you help!” Mammoth roared to the room.

Robin glanced over at Slade who smirked at him and raised his juice box in a mock salute.

“Well, as you wish, of course,” Robin nodded. “Shall we let the battle commence?”

“No! We start fighting now!”

Robin, and a few more around the room, snickered. The teen nodded and gestured for the giant man to charge him. With a roar, he did.

Mammoth was wearing a collar, but it wouldn’t have mattered. He had the raw strength and durability to beat the teen many times over, but he lacked the brains and the agility. And, as Robin had figured out long ago, he had a sensitive nose. Well, that wasn’t fair, getting hit in the nose wasn’t something most meta humans would be able to shrug off, and it was cleaner than going for his junk. Robin didn’t want to fight that dirty unless he really had to. He used the fight to show off his own skills, never letting Mammoth’s fists get even close to him, but landing kicks and punches that made the big guy grunt. Most people watching would have been down from just one of those hits, and they knew it. Robin used the tables to launch himself at the man, apologizing profoundly to the people around the table and scolding Mammoth for disturbing their meal to the point that the giant hairball actually mumbled ‘sorry’ at one point. The teen didn’t fully trust the other inmates not to help Mammoth, of course, but so far no one had tried to restrain him or trip him up. 

“Robin, lunch is over, finish this,” Slade called to him. The teen frowned. He didn’t like to appear to take orders from the mercenary, but he understood the warning; it had dragged out too long, others wouldn’t be able to help themselves soon enough.

His heel crashed into the other man’s nose a second later. Mammoth roared in pain and fell to his knees. Robin, who could have easily kicked him in the head, possibly taking the man out for good, just stepped back.

“There. I did what I promised. Now we are friends.”

“No!” the man screeched.

“But you promised!” Robin claimed although the man really hadn’t done anything of the sort. “If not, I have to break your nose again, and I don’t want to do that to the boss in here. After all, that would be disrespectful, right?”

“Yeah,” the man grunted and Robin could see tears of pain steaming from his eyes, gushing almost as much as the blood.

“I’ll leave your subjects to help you,” the teen said. “I’ll see you around.”

He walked back to Slade, who had stood up and was now handing him his tray.

On the way out, they were stopped by the lizard and what appeared to be his gang.

“Nice entertainment, boy,” the sharp-toothed man grinned, his tongue darting out to lick his almost nonexistent lips.

“Glad you enjoyed it,” Robin said, trying not to sound too cocky.

“We have a proposition for you. You’ll be nice to us and we’ll protect you,” the lizard said. “You’ll need our help.”

“Honestly, I thought me and Mammoth hit it off pretty well, so I’m just gonna weigh my options for a bit, ok?” the teen said overly sweetly.

“We’ll see you then. Soon. You might change your mind about wanting us to be good to you if we show you what can happen if we’re not. Because you’re not his daddy, are you, Deathstroke?”

“Nope,” the man said. “He’s up for grabs.”

Robin actually felt betrayed by the man’s words and scowled at him. The man smirked back.

“Until later then, sweet thing,” Zaid said and moved out of the way. Robin couldn’t avoid his ass getting caressed again as he passed, but acted like he ignored it.

“Where to now?” he asked Slade quietly.

“There’s no work today, so common room or back to the cell.”

“I think I’ve made enough friends for now,” the teen muttered.

“Well, you can hope they won’t come visit you, then,” the man said and took off in the opposite direction to where Robin was sure their cell was.

“Damn it!” the teen almost whined and set off after the man, who sauntered along, seemingly whistling quietly to himself. Robin wanted to literally kick his ass so badly.

The ‘common room’ was big enough so fifty people could be in there without getting too much in each other’s faces. Through an archway, Robin could see a gym. There was furniture like sofas, tables and chairs, all bolted down, of course. A group was already in there, gathered around a table and playing cards by the looks of it.

“Wilson!” one man called out. “Wanna join?”

“Maybe later, I’m reading the news first,” the man told him and the men nodded.

Robin had paid close attention to how the other inmates treated Slade, trying to judge what kind of standing the man had in here. There were different constellations and they were all ranked in an unspoken hierarchy whether they wanted to or not. So far, people seemed to get out of the man’s way. When they spoke to him, they kept their voices respectful, even the lizard. No one was flocking to the man, however, he didn’t have an entourage, like the other leaders seemed to have, nor belong to a specific group. Robin didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing. He watched the man put his hand on a scanner, and a slab of something on a chain came through a slot in the wall.

“What…?” the teen asked curiously and came closer. It seemed to be some kind of tablet encased in that unbreakable clear thing that apparently still was touch sensitive. A number of what the teen assumed was apps were highlighted, some were dark. He watched as Slade clicked on one and got to what must be a news site. It seemed to be mainly text and most likely heavily edited. The teen got curious and put his own hand on the reader. A moment later he had his own ‘slab’ but only three icons; some sort of game, a calendar and what turned out to be the bible.

“The fuck?” he said. “Why can’t I read the news?”

“You haven’t been here long enough yet. If you don’t cause too much trouble you should get access in a month or so,” Slade replied.

“Um… was fighting Mammoth getting in trouble?” the teen asked.

“Nah, they don’t care much about that. Fights for dominance is part of it. Just don’t go around picking fights.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“We’ll see about that,” the man smirked.

Robin huffed and tried to play the game for a bit, but it didn’t catch his attention, so he stood up to return the slab. It was swallowed up by the slot and the teen sighed, wondering what else there was to do. Entertainment came to him, though.

“Aw, we thought you would go run and hide in your room. We were there looking for you,” a voice behind him said. It was the lizard guy and he had quite a few friends with him.

The teen turned around and met the guy’s eyes calmly. It seemed he was going to have to fight again, but that was alright. Mammoth hadn’t taken too much out of him.

“How nice of you. You really make me feel welcome,” he drawled.

“We will make you feel lots of things. Boys; get him.”

Everyone attacked at once, piling on top of him. Robin knew how to cause a lot of pain in these kinds of situations, though, and soon most of the men had pulled back, groaning from having nerve centers punched or pressed. The teen was almost free and swung at Zaid’s jaw. Instead of pulling away, however, the man opened his mouth and bit down on the teen’s fist.

“OW! How old are you? Four?” Robin snarled.

“Back off boys, I got him,” the lizard said and smiled at the teen.

First Robin thought the man meant that he could fight him himself, but soon it turned out that ‘I got him’ meant something different. His vision started to swim.

“What…?” he asked.

“He’s venomous,” Slade, still sitting at the table next to the teen, said. “It will pass in fifteen minutes or so.”

“Which gives us enough time for a first round, I think,” Zaid said and pushed the teen down on the table. “And after that, you probably won’t be able to fight a second one.”

He was bent over the table, stomach down, head spinning and his muscles as limp as over cooked noodles.

“No!” he gasped as he pants were pulled down. “No! Slade!” he called out in desperation.

“I have no stakes in this,” the man shrugged.

Robin heard and felt more than one person spit on his ass after someone parted his globes.

“We’re going to wreck that pretty pink hole so badly…” a voce snickered.

“Yes, take a good look, boys, it will never look like this again,” Zaid chuckled. “Now… one or two?”

“He didn’t agree to be our plaything. Two. Teach him some respect,” one of his henchmen said and the others seemed to agree.

“Very well. Hope you don’t mind very bloody sloppy seconds,” the lizard purred and the teen could feel something pressing against his opening.

Robin suddenly thought of a possible way out, most likely the only way.

“Slade!” he called out in desperation, having nothing to lose, “Be my daddy! Please! Please be my daddy!”

“Very well. I accept,” the mercenary said. Robin could raise his head just enough to see him leer. “Back off boys, he’s my bitch.”

“Hey, we-” Zaid growled, but didn’t get to finish. Slade moved at what seemed like light speed and crashed his fist full force into the lizard’s head. The man crumpled to the floor, bleeding, and his henchmen dispersed without any further ado. Robin felt his pants being pulled up but was still too weak to move. Slade lifted him up bridal style and walked to the middle of the room while Zaid was coming to and, groaning, tried to get on his feet.

“Listen up! The kid’s my bitch, he begged me himself, you heard him. If anyone’s got a problem with that, you’re welcome to challenge me at dinner. In the meanwhile, I’d appreciate some privacy to break him in.”

No one said a word, but there were some angry glares that Robin spotted before his head lolled to the other side, towards the man’s chest.

The last thing the teen heard before they were out of earshot was Zaid, growling. “Hank! Get over here!”

A high pitched, panicked voice, answered.

“No! No please, man! Please, I haven’t healed yet, please! Noo!”

Robin just closed his eyes. He felt bad for they guy, but he was too damn happy that it wasn’t him to really care.

He was dropped on the bottom bunk and groaned as the sudden movement made him nauseous.

“Don’t whine, at least your ass isn’t ripped,” the man snorted.

“Thank you,” Robin mumbled weakly.

“Don’t for a moment think you won’t be paying me back. Bitches pay for their protection with their ass and mouth and you’d better be a damn good bitch or I’ll sell you to the highest bidder.”

Robin felt like his heart stopped and he stared wide eyed up at the man. “You… you’re… gonna…?”

“Don’t worry, daddy’s gonna take real good care of you,” the man smirked down at him. “But before we can start your training, that venom needs to leave your system, so take a nap or something,” the man said. The mercenary went behind the partition to take a piss, and then climbed up to the top bunk to apparently have a bit of a siesta himself.

Robin just lay there, helplessly, his heart pounding and panic building. Slowly he regained the movement of his limbs but he stayed still until he was sure he was fully restored. Then he sprang out of bed, heading towards the door. He didn’t know how running away would help. He would most likely just run into other inmates and have to fight again, but at least he would put things off. That was the plan, anyway, but that was ruined when a hand closed around the back of his neck before he had even taken one step. He was, painfully, dragged up into the top bunk with the man. He tried to fight but the man changed his grip so his fingers pressed down onto his throat instead, and, very quickly, Robin learned that if he wanted to breathe, he needed to be still. He still almost blacked out learning that lesson, though.

“You little idiot,” the man growled. “People are waiting for you outside. If you run out, if you disobey me, that’s proof to them that I’m not in control of you. Then you are theirs. Do you understand?”

Robin, still gasping for breath, nodded. “Yes… okay… okay, I… I understand. I’ll… I’ll pretend… in… in front of them. You can… can order me around and… and whatever.”

The man smirked. “Not good enough. And no mask in here,” he said and ripped the teen’s mask off.

“No!” Robin threw an arm across his face in a vain attempt to hide his face.

“If you’re trying to protect Bruce, there’s no need,” the man told him.

The young hero gasped, but lowered his arm, staring up at the man.

“I know who you are,” Slade confirmed. “I removed your mask to see the fear… the pain… the hopelessness… ah, yes…” the man’s fingers caressed the side of his face. “There it is. Beautiful.” This his hand moved own to caress the teen’s hip instead, and with a sudden tug he pulled Robin’s pants down halfway to his thigh

“No!” the teen objected, pushing against the man’s chest to, somehow, try to lift the man off him. He tried all the painful pressure points he could possibly reach, but the man didn’t even blink. The grip around his throat then came back until the teen’s hand fell away uselessly as spots started dancing in front of his eyes. When Robin came back to himself, the man had already removed the hero’s pants completely, along with underwear, and had freed himself from his own clothes. The teen stared down at what the mercenary apparently planned to shove inside him and wanted to faint again. The man didn’t waste any time. He simply spat in his hand, coated his member and pushed the teen’s legs apart.

“Please!” Robin hissed, gutturally, his throat hurting by now. “Please, no!”

But the man had already positioned himself, and pushed against the teen’s entrance.

“You made your bed, Robin. You put me in here. Now you have to pay.” The man snapped his hips forwards and the hero cried out in pain as it felt like he was being split open. “There, there, bitch,” the man soothed him mockingly. “It will get better. With time.” He then pulled out a bit and pushed in again. Deeper this time. Impossibly deep. Robin didn’t see any way this could ever be ‘better’. And it didn’t. Slade set a punishing pace and all the teen could do was bite his lip against the pain and screw his eyes shut. The man didn’t like that, though.

“No!” he barked, grabbing his throat again. “Look at me! Don’t you dare look away or this could hurt far worse!”

The teen didn’t know how, but didn’t dare challenge the man, so he stared into that cold, triumphant eye, until, finally, the man gave a last few, extra deep, thrusts and stilled. Robin could feel pulsing, but if it was from his opening or the man’s cock, he had no idea. He gasped as the mercenary withdrew, as it hurt almost as bad as the breach.

Slade climbed off the bed and went over to the sink to clean up.

“Get up and sort yourself out. You’re bleeding,” he told Robin, like he was blaming him.

The teen whimpered as he tried to climb down. Just letting himself fall was the easiest option in the end. He landed clumsily, another spike of pain shooting up from his backside. He went to the toilet and wiped himself. He _was_ bleeding. A lot.

“I… I think I need a doctor,” he said in a very small voice.

“Bullshit, most bitches bleed, at least the first time. Well, without proper lube and preparation,” Slade claimed and pulled the sheet off the bed. It was stained with red spots as well. Robin watched, wide-eyed, as the man threw it into the hallway. Outside, a whoop went up. There really _were_ people outside. They had been waiting for him. Robin got up from the toilet just in time to turn around and throw up in it. His pants landed on the floor next to him. It was a sign to clean up, get dressed and stop whining, the teen was sure. He tried his best, using water from the sink and wads of toilet paper. Once he pulled his pants up, he felt a bit more protected again.

“Why… why did you do that…?” he asked Slade, who was stretched out on the lower bunk now.

“What? Fuck you? I thought that was obvious…?”

“No… I mean… with the sheets…?”

“Proof of ownership. Archaic practice, to the misery of the women subjected to it, as it builds on misconceptions of the female body, but still… effective. You’re officially my bitch now.”

Robin’s brain worked feverishly to shut out what had just happened, to push it away for other things, and therefor his mind leapt into a new, unexpected direction.

“Why are there sheets on the beds…? Can’t they be used to… you know… hang yourself or something?”

“Like the blankets, they can’t be torn, at least not into strips, and they are inflammable too… but yes, not everyone gets sheets. Certainly not those who are a suicide risk.”

“So… you’re not?” the teen asked.

The man snorted. “Too narcissistic, apparently,” he smirked. Robin felt his lips twitch and nodded in agreement with that assessment. He spotted something on the floor and walked over to pick it up. His mask. He wanted to put it on, but Slade was watching.

“No. No mask in here, Robin.”

“But… but if someone comes in?”

“If someone comes in here, without my permission, they won’t leave alive.”

“But… the cameras!” he added. At that point he realized that someone had just watched him getting raped. And done nothing. He hugged himself, his stomach heaving again.

“The feed from cameras like that aren’t very high res, besides, I doubt any of the guards here care. Come here,” Slade ordered. The man moved back against the wall slightly, making room for the teen to lie down. Robin didn’t want to, but was out of any energy to fight at the moment. He lay down and the man pulled him closer, spooning him, his arm encircling him. There was nothing akin to comfort in the embrace, though, it was all a display of ownership, and Robin felt it.

“I hate you,” he growled.

“Nothing new about that,” the man chuckled, sounding pleased.

“It is. I didn’t hate you before. I… almost looked up to you,” the teen admitted, to himself as much as to the mercenary.

“And yet you put me in here?” the man snorted.

“I had to! You’re a villain! I just didn’t think you were such an utter _bastard_!” Robin snarled.

Again, his throat was grabbed. “Tell daddy you’re sorry,” Slade drawled into his ear.

“Fuck you!” Robin grunted, his spirits starting to come back.

“Good idea, I have another one in me,” the man said and grinded his groin against the teen’s ass.

Those budding spirits died instantly.

“No! No, I’m sorry!” Robin hurriedly said.

“You’re sorry… what?”

“I… I’m sorry… daddy!” the teen forced himself to say,

“Good little bitch. Now rest. We’re working out and having a shower later, before dinner.”

Robin hadn’t wanted to hit the gym less his entire life. He didn’t want to go out there again. He just wanted to curl up, close his eyes, and fade away.

_To be Continued…_


	2. New Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kind reviews for the last chapter! It helps to think about when you sit down and write…

They stayed put for thirty minutes. Robin watched every one of them tick by on the digital clock on the opposite wall. He tried to relax, to use breathing techniques to cope, pushed everything down. Just deal with what was happening in the moment. Right here, right now, he wasn’t in danger. He was pressed against Slade’s chest and he could hear and feel the man’s calm breaths. He didn’t think the man was sleeping, but as long as he was doing nothing, he wasn’t a threat.

Nothing truly worked, and when Slade moved, Robin was as tense as ever again.

“The gym,” the man said. “Don’t talk back to me, don’t disobey.”

“Slade, wait!” Robin hissed as the man was about to open the door. He fumbled with his mask and put it on. It felt a little bit better. “I… it hurts, I’m... I’m not sure if I can… work out.”

“Then you’ll attend me. Did you have something else to whine about?”

“No, sir,” Robin mumbled.

There were still people scattered in the hallway, but the sheet was gone. He heard inmates whistle and call out after them, commenting on the teen’s limp. It was more from landing badly when trying to climb down from the bunk, than anything else, but there was no use correcting their assumptions. More people were in the common room now, but Slade just crossed it and entered the gym. There wasn’t much in there, but there were weights and sandbags at least. Nothing that required electricity. The teen thought dryly to himself that the weights might make great weapons, but then again, the prison didn’t seem very concerned about the inmates killing each other, or themselves, merely that they shouldn’t be able to escape.

“Go get a towel, bitch,” Slade ordered and indicated a shelf with small, stacked towels.

“Yes… Daddy,” Robin said, the title making his stomach churn. He still kept his back straight and head held high. Slade hadn’t said he needed to grovel, least of all to anyone else here.

“So, you broke him in, huh?”

It was Zaid again. Robin growled to himself, but got the towel and was about to hand it to Slade when his hand was slapped away.

“Idiot, _you_ keep the towel. You wipe the bench and equipment when I’m done with each, got it?”

“Yes, Daddy!” Robin said quickly.

“Aw. Look at you, darling… your neck is all bruised,” Zaid said and gestured to it. “Is your Daddy treating you roughly?”

Robin didn’t know if he should answer, but Slade came to his rescue by cutting in.

“Yeah, I broke him in, but there’s still work to be done. He’ll get more bruises.”

“Maybe fuck him in the shower later? Let people watch? That breaks them in no time,” the alien suggested.

“The bitch is on his period right now. Ripped him pretty badly,” the man chuckled. “I’d rather he heals up so I can enjoy him longer then him dying of an infection or something.”

“God, I hate it when they are on the rag, and they are such whiny bitches then too. Still, he has another hole.”

“Can’t wait to start _that_ training,” Slade leered. “But now I need space. Workout.”

“Sure man, sure,” Zaid raised his hands and backed away a few steps as to show Slade that he didn’t mean to step on his toes. “Later.”

The mercenary nodded and then started an exercise regime that impressed the teen. The gym was laughing at him when Slade had him fetch weights that he could barely lift.

“Isn’t that cute?” Slade commented, and the room snickered. Robin blushed, but carried on, even working up a little bit of a sweat himself.

One and a half hours later the man was done. Robin put the last weights away and wiped down everything carefully. He suspected that it was only him that did that, judging by the state and smell of some of the things. Slade showed him where to throw the dirty towel and then they headed to the showers.

Slade undressed without a care. The whole room was open, lockers on one side, showers in a row on the other. Robin hated the very sight with a passion.

“Undress.”

The teen opened his mouth, but saw the look in the man’s eye and closed it again very quickly. There were jeers when he undressed and they rose to a howl when he pulled down his underwear and someone spotted the blood-stained wad of toilet paper.

“Told you he’s on his period,” Slade snorted. “Clean up, boy,” he was told and then the man started to shower himself.

Robin was red from his head down to his chest by now, but took a bar of soap and stepped into the shower next to Slade, trying to hide a bit behind him. Slade washed thoroughly, so Robin had no excuse to just have a quick wash, and he eventually reached his really sore spot, He winced as the water and soap ran over the area, but it felt better afterwards. There were fewer people around now, just a few, that the teen was pretty sure were perverts. One or two where even touching themselves through their clothes. He gave them a disgusted glare, but Slade completely ignored them.

The man then showed him where the towels were. Horrible, coarse things, but rather absorbent, at least. Next he was shown where to place his hand to get a new set of clothes.

“You get four sets a week, so don’t waste them,” he was told.

“Underwear too?” the teen asked, crinkling his nose.

“Underwear and socks we get daily, in the morning. I’m afraid you’re stuck with the ones you have until then.”

“Yes, si- I... I mean… Daddy.”

“’Sir’ is fine as a change of pace,” the man chuckled as he dressed.

“Thank you, sir,” Robin mumbled. He grimaced as he had to put on his stained underwear again, and he threw away the wad of toilet paper. “Are there bathrooms? I think I need to… um…”

“Change pads?” the man smiled cruelly. “Sure, though there.”

The bathroom, at least, had booths, although they weren’t lockable. Still, Slade was close enough so Robin hoped he wouldn’t get disturbed. He found that he had stopped bleeding but put some paper over the area anyway, just in case, and then returned to his ‘Daddy’.

“What now?” he asked.

“This is not an activity center, Robin, most of the time we do nothing. For now… we’ll wait for dinner.”

“Yes, Daddy,” the teen said, as he didn’t want to push his luck too much. He combed through his damp hair with his fingers, as he lacked a comb, and glanced in the mirror out of habit.

“Trying to make yourself look petty for me, bitch?” Slade chuckled from the doorway. “Come on now, I won’t wait for you.”

They entered the common room and Slade walked up to a couple of men playing cards. One of them immediately gave up his seat when he saw man approaching. Slade sat down without sparing him a glance. Robin didn’t know what to do with himself, but decided to stand right behind Slade, a little to his left. The game started and Robin used the time to first watch the men around the table, and then let his eyes travel around the room. This was the first time he had really dared to study his fellow inmates. He thought he could make out certain groups and he spotted a few more who seemed to have the position he himself was currently ‘enjoying’. What surprised him was that out of the four he could see, two were big, muscular men. He understood the attraction to the body type, naturally, but he didn’t quite understand the thrill of dominating someone like that. Or anyone. Still, he knew people had different tastes, and he hoped most people in here would like big tall and muscular instead of short, wiry and limber. His eyes found the specific men again. There was something in their eyes that looked quite dim. Almost broken. He looked away. He didn’t want to become like that.

He turned his focus back to the game. The guy opposite them had just gone all in. Slade hade decent cards and Robin was sure that he was about to call. The man opposite wasn’t bluffing, though, his shoulders were too relaxed. The teen subtly pressed his arm against Slade’s shoulder as a warning, and when it was the man’s turn, he folded. It turned out the man really had the winning hand, and he was quite annoyed that Slade hadn’t fallen for it, like the other players had.

The game continued and Slade did well. They played for a mix of old markers, toothpicks and scraps of cardboard, and the teen had no idea if something real was on the line or not. It didn’t seem like it, because when the game ended, Slade coming in as number two because of the winner getting a really lucky hand, they just pooled everything together and sorted it into a box.

“Want a real game later?” a man asked the group in general.

“What do you have to bet?” someone asked.

“Been saving up clean clothes,” the first man answered.

“I’ll pair up with the winner and do all the hard work next time we’re stationed together,” another said.

“Wilson, you have your bitch… willing to gamble a blow job or two?” the first one asked, and suddenly there was real interest around the table.

“Sure,” Slade shrugged, as Robin’s heart sank. “But not until I’ve trained him. I don’t want him slobbering over your dirty dongs when he’s practically a virgin.”

The men guffawed and grunted and all seemed to agree that it was reasonable, though they tried to come up with other things to trade or entice Slade with. Robin let out a quiet sigh of relief and decided to be a very slow student.

“Come on, bitch, I want to watch some TV before dinner,” the man told him and soon they were back in their cell.

“You helped me,” Slade said once the door was closed. “Why? And take your mask off.”

Robin removed the mask and looked up at the man, feeling a bit nonplussed.

“I… I don’t know. It was… instinct…?” he said.

“Good instinct, then. I can only protect you as long as my status is high enough. By helping me, or at least not trying to ruin my reputation, you are helping yourself. A lost game wouldn’t have meant much, of course, but for your own sake… keep it up.”

“Who’s going to protect me from you, then?” Robin muttered.

Slade smirked. “Absolutely no one.”

Robin grumbled to himself as Slade, chuckling quietly, went to turn on the TV. There was no controller so he had to do it at the wall. Soon a news channel was streaming information into the room and the man went to the bottom bunk and lied down, propped up against the wall.

“Come here,” he said and patted his lap. Robin reluctantly lay down next to him and the man snorted. “Lower,” he said, pushing on the teen’s shoulder. “I’ve just showered, trust me, it’s a good time to start learning.”

“Can’t… can’t it wait?” Robin asked.

“Until I’m good and sweaty down there again, you mean? Kinky,” the man smirked. “Robin, I’m doing you a favor.”

The teen swallowed but nodded. At least it wouldn’t hurt. He crawled down and pulled the front of the man’s trousers down. Slade’s member was a bit chubby but not fully hard yet, so the teen tentatively took it in his hand and stroked it. It was very strange to do this to someone else, but also rather fascinating. The curious part of his mind took over, and he almost forgot who he was doing this to, and why. The way the member grew, the way the foreskin moved effortlessly over the shaft, the little pearl of precum collecting at the wide mushroom shaped tip. How this thing had been inside him the teen didn’t know.

He felt a hand on his head, telling him that it was time to take this further. He lightly licked the tip first, then the whole length. He then let the tip into his mouth, although it was uncomfortably big and he didn’t want to scrape the man with his teeth. Slade didn’t hurry him on anymore, though, he simply played with his hair and, when the teen glanced up, he saw that the man was watching the news with a little content smile on his face. As Slade didn’t seem to be in a hurry, neither was he, Robin decided. Maybe, he figured, it was counterproductive as he should want this thing to be over with, but he remembered how brutally the man had fucked him, and the idea of having that happen to his throat didn’t appeal to him one bit. Instead he used his hand quite a lot as he licked and sucked tip. It wasn’t until he started to tire that he realized the he needed to get the man off while he could still continue, or things might turn ugly.

He sped up, and the man grunted in what sounded like an appreciative way to the teen. He upped his efforts even more and it was just enough. The man’s hand tightened in his hair and with a grunt Slade lifted his hips, trusting a little too deep for comfort into the teen’s mouth, but Robin stayed put and took it, knowing that anything else would be unacceptable. He swallowed too, and received a pat on the head as a reward when the man pulled back. The teen glanced up and saw Slade looking at him with a very pleased expression on his face.

“Not bad for a beginner,” the man said.

“How… how did you know I was a beginner?” Robin asked, wiping his mouth as Slade tucked himself in.

“That was obvious. They took your virginity, didn’t they?”

“I… y-yes... I … I don’t remember anything, though,” The teen said. “the… the doctor’s examination con- confirmed it. There… was DNA.” 

Slade nodded and then smirked. “Well, you won’t forget about me, so I’ll count that as being your first,” he said smugly. Robin pulled away and slowly climbed off the bed, waiting to see if Slade would call him back. When the man didn’t, the teen went to the sink and washed his face. He also rinsed his mouth, though he tried not to be obvious about it, and drank some water. He wanted to get up in the top bunk to be left alone for a while, but Slade gestured for him again, and soon Robin was leaning back against the man, an arm around him, watching the news as well. In another universe they could be cuddling, Robin realized, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Something funny?”

“No, sir,” Robin hurriedly denied.

“Sounded like it.”

“No, I just… had a strange thought…”

“Explain.”

“Well… I don’t know… like… if people saw us now, they might think that we… that we’re… together…?”

The man snorted. “That _is_ pretty funny. Maybe we should make up pet names for each other too, huh, sweetie?”

“Anything is better than ‘Daddy’,” Robin piped up and shuddered. “Hell, ‘Master’ is better than ‘Daddy’. You sure you don’t want me to call you Master?”

“No. Firstly, you’re not my apprentice, you’re my bitch. Secondly; when in Rome. Those are the terms used in here.”

“Never figured you for much of a conformer…?” Robin dared to tease. The arm around him tightened slightly.

“Careful, boy.”

“Sorry, Daddy,” the teen sighed.

They were both quiet for a while and then Robin carefully spoke again.

“May I ask you about some rules?”

“Sure. We probably should go through some anyway.”

“I get obeying you, but what about others? May I speak back to them? Defend myself?”

“You might want to be a bit careful while you’re healing, but yes, you may defend yourself if you need it. I might even tell you to fight someone if they annoy me. I’d prefer it if you ask me first though.”

“And just talking? If the situation should arise, I mean?”

“I don’t think you’d want to be friendly with anyone here.”

“I doubt everyone is that bad,” Robin snorted, thinking that, from what he had seen so far, they seems somewhat civilized, sticking to their own rules.

“Robin, this isn’t the kind of prison they put people who had committed fraud or not paid their taxes,” the man chuckled. “One guy was caught in the middle of eating his tenth baby.”

“What…? Who?”

“The bald guy at the poker table.”

“Oh, god…” Robin groaned. “He looked pretty normal.”

“He has a meta power. Energy blasts. Claimed he needed to protein and that piglets wouldn’t do anymore.”

“Makes me sick…”

“He ate them raw. Alive, in some cases-”

“Stop!” Robin exclaimed. “Stop, you’ve made your point, ok? I won’t try to make friends!”

“Probably for the best,” the man hummed.

“How come lizard-guy doesn’t have a muzzle, by the way? He’s dangerous!”

“They tried, or so I’ve heard. He’s been here for quite a while. But he needs to be able to eat, so in the end they decided to just use one hell of a stunner collar on him, in case the staff needs to deal with him for some reason.”

“But the inmates then?”

“Robin, Robin, Robin…” Slade sighed and slowly, almost affectionately, ruffled the teen’s hair. “Why can’t you grasp the concept that they don’t care?”

“But that’s insane! Neither you or I are in here forever, do they expect us to just be… I don’t know… good and sane when we get out of this hell hole?!”

“I don’t think they expect us to get out. I heard about a guy. He was getting released after twenty years. A few days before, there was a fight in the cafeteria, that happens quite a lot. He wasn’t involved, but a guy died and suddenly he got five extra years. He went straight to the laundry and drank bleach.”

“Holy shit, was he ok?” Robin gasped, turning his head to look up at the man.

Slade gave him a wry look. “…Was he ok?” the man repeated sarcastically. “Why, yes, Robin. I don’t think he ever had any more problems after that.” 

“Fuck…” the teen mumbled, accepting the ridicule but ignoring it, and curled in a bit on himself. “Has… has anyone ever left?”

“Don’t know.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

“I just… I get that you want to hurt me.”

“Good, then we’re on the same page,” the man chuckled.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Robin snorted. He then sighed and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the man’s chest. He was trying to fight the hopelessness of the situation. “My friends will know I didn’t do this. They will find the real killer. They will get me out of here.”

“Unless you _did_ do it,” Slade reminded him.

“I still don’t deserve to be here!”

“You can take down almost everyone out there with ease, and some with only a bit of difficulty,” Slade snorted. “You’re far too dangerous to go to a normal prison.”

“I would behave!” Robin objected. “Do you hear me?” he yelled at one of the cameras. “Please transfer me!”

“There’s no microphones in here, only cameras. I’ve looked, and other inmates have tested if they are overheard. There’s a limit on the amount of information the prison can process, they can’t have one person listening to every camera feed, but they can have one person watching several at once.”

“What if people are plotting to escape?”

“They can plot all they like; the building makes sure you can’t.”

“You haven’t found any weaknesses?” Robin asked, craning his head to look up at the man again. Slade had an amused expression on his face.

“I won’t discuss anything like that with you, unless I’m certain you want to leave, no matter what you have to do. Might take a couple of years.”

“Yeah, no, I’m ready to go!” Robin claimed, but Slade only chuckled at him. The man then glanced up at the clock that was showing five to six.

“Dinner is up in a moment,” he announced. “Get up.”

Robin didn’t have to be asked twice. Once on his feet, Slade stretched and went to turn off the TV. He then placed his hand on a scanner and started typing.

“What are you doing?” Robin asked.

“You can request things here and, if they deem that you can have them, they sometimes allow it.”

“Oh… what did you request?”

The man smirked down at him. “Lube.”

Robin paled a little and the man chuckled. “It’s for your own sake. Once you’re healed up. Your Daddy’s being good to you. What do you say?”

“Th-thanks, Daddy,” Robin mumbled.

“Atta bitch,” the man chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Can I request something?”

“Not for a month. What did you want?”

“Apart from a chastity belt?” Robin muttered. “I don’t know… books? Are there books?”

“Apart from the bible on the reading-pad? I don’t think so, maybe someone has one to trade.”

“I don’t have anything to trade with. At least nothing I _want_ to trade with,” Robin muttered.

“Maybe when you’re desperate enough,” the man smirked.

“Just to be clear, you wouldn’t allow me to, would you?” Robin asked, now sure what kind of answer he wanted.

Slade hesitated. “No. Your ass and mouth are mine. Handjobs you can do, though, if I’ve given the all clear.”

“Yaay… I’m riiiich…” the teen muttered as he put his mask back on.

“Spend it wisely,” the man snorted. “And I’ll keep others away only as lon as you behave. If you piss me off enough, I’ll let mammoth and Zaid fuck you at the same time.” Slade then walked out the door, just as a buzzer sounded and an electronic voice told them to proceed to the cafeteria for dinner.

“You mentioned the laundry, sir?” Robin said quietly as they walked.

“That’s were our section works. We do the laundry for the whole prison. We believe other sections might cook or clean but we’re not sure. This is our day off. We work for five days, get one day off, and then it repeats.”

“So tomorrow we work?” Robin asked.

“Yup.”

“Well, at least it’s something to do?” the teen said hopefully. The man gave him a backwards glance.

“Robin, Robin, Robin…” he sighed again, smirking slightly. It wasn’t encouraging.

They were about to turn into the hallway where the cafeteria was, and the teen stopped dead for a second.

“Um… I… I know I haven’t walked this way more than once, but I could have sworn there was a hallway down there?” he said, pointing at a wall.

“There is. The walls move, blocking off parts where we’re not supposed to be, so maintenance can come in or bodies can be collected.”

“Oh. It’s like we’re rats in a maze,” Robin muttered.

“Let me know if you find the cheese,” Slade smirked.

The food was as disappointing as it had been for lunch, there was just more of it. People had settled down a bit, though, and weren’t quite as aggressive. Slade’s influence, the teen assumed.

After he had finished eating, the mercenary stood up.

“Anyone who has decided to challenge my claim to the bitch?” he asked, loud enough for the whole room to hear. Robin held his breath as he looked around, but no one stood up. “So be it. I’ll auction him off when I’m tired of him, as is tradition,” Slade said, which earned a few hopeful hoots. “You’ll try to entertain me for a long time, won’t you, bitch?” he asked Robin as he sat down.

“Yes, Daddy,” the teen gulped, feeling the hungry stares.

“Cafeteria closes in fifteen minutes. Please vacate the area,” the metallic voice told them.

“Time for the next block to eat,” Slade explained. “Let’s go, you don’t want to get stuck in here when the doors close.”

“What happens if you do?” Robin said.

“No one knows,” Slade shrugged. “Apparently people have stayed and not been seen again. Someone say they spray the room with some kind of poisonous disinfectant before the next group is allowed to enter, but I find that a bit hard to believe. Still, I wouldn’t lick the furniture.”

“Oh, thanks for the warning, I _was_ a bit curious,” Robin snorted. Slade’s hand landed on his neck, not hard, but it was a warning. “Sorry, sir,” the teen said.

“You’re amusing, bitch, just don’t be _too_ amusing, alright?”

“I’ll try, Daddy,” Robin replied, but this time there was just a hint of cheek in his voice.

According to Slade, they were allowed two more hours in the common room before they had to go back to their cells. Slade confiscated the sofa by grabbing the two men that occupied it and throwing them off. He then had Robin sit on his lap while he talked to the people flocking to him.

Robin ignored the embarrassment and decided to use the time to study the men around him again. Most of the inmates coming up to them he deemed as ‘weaker’; they seemed to want protection, they causally mentioned that they might have extra food, clothes or pills. Slade made no direct commitments as far as Robin could understand, but just being close to the man seemed to calm the weaker men down. The young hero wished he could say the same.

People from the different gangs came over and exchanged a few words too, all small talk, all very innocent, but it probably had a deeper meaning.

“Heard you got fucked, hero.” Mammoth pulled Robin out of his musings. He glanced up quickly at Slade first, before answering.

“Jealous, hairball?” he shot back.

The big man blinked, seemingly having trouble grasping the teen’s answer.

“No!” he then quickly denied. “But you are!”

“What, wait… jealous?” Robin asked.

“No, stop doing that! You’re fucked! Deathstroke fucked your ass!”

“That he did,” Robin said calmly, and even trying to sound smug. “Are you upset about that? I’m not sure you’re his type.”

“He fucked you.” The meta human’s arguments were repetitive but at least very consistent.

“Yes, I already know that. Did you think I would have missed it? Daddy’s _hung_!” Robin lovingly caressed the mercenary’s chest and neck as he spoke. Yes, it left a sour taste in his mouth, but he’d be dammed if he’d look like a kicked dog around the dimwit H.I.V.E member. He actually didn’t want to look like a kicked dog around _any_ of them, least of all Slade. “Now was that all, or do I have to ask Daddy for permission to break your nose again?” Robin asked sweetly.

The big inmate put a hand in front of his nose and took a couple of steps back.

“Well… you got fucked!” he claimed again and stalked away.

Robin couldn’t help but snicker, and then he felt a hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

“Good boy, Robin.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” Robin replied, rather easily. Somehow, when the man used his name, it felt… better. Like he was being sincere. The teen didn’t quite know, he just knew that it was a hell of a lot better than ‘bitch’.

“You allow your bitch to talk back to people?” someone asked. Robin recognized him as mid-level on the ranking system, but he’d seen him trying to act uppity. A trouble maker.

“Yes, Neil, and I’d be happy to let him beat up a few more people too. Want to get in line?” Slade drawled.

“The name’s Pitbull!” the man piped up in his surprisingly high voice. He wasn’t much taller than Robin, and heavyset in the way where he looked rather rectangular, but it was hard to say if it was muscle or fat. He had also already taken a step back, so his objection wasn’t very impressive.

“Oh, that’s not what you told me when I asked you nicely about your name a few weeks ago. Neil Johnson, wasn’t it? Lived in your mother’s basement until you accidentally gained your powers and tried to take over the world? It took the cops about three hours to take you down, right?”

“Liar! He’s lying! It was the Justice League! And they were lucky!”

“Huh, because I used to read all the JL’s case files, and you don’t ring a bell, puppy,” Robin grinned.

“Now, now, don’t be to mean to the dog,” Slade told him. “I’m sure he has some balls to lick… his own or someone else’s.”

The man stormed off, basically frothing at the mouth.

“You’re going to have to fight him one of these days, Robin,” Slade told him quietly. “Might have been better if you hadn’t butted in.”

“I was only defending the JL,” Robin claimed. 

He received a few pats on the head for that. “Sure you did. Now get up, bitch, it’s bedtime for you.”

“Are you gonna make him sleep at your feet, Deathstroke?” someone asked and got a few people giggling.

“Who says he’s going to sleep at all?” Slade smirked back and got a few cheers. “Don’t want to make you jealous, boys, but this bitch really knows how to suck cock, so sorry for being antisocial, but I’m making an evening out of it.”

“If he’s so good, why not let him suck you off right here?” Zaid spoke up. The room liked that.

“Why would you want to watch a man getting sucked off, are you a fag or something?” Slade drawled. The room somehow forgot that they had supported the suggestion and liked Slade’s answer more.

Once back in their cell Robin knew what he had to look forwards to, especially when Slade turned on the TV and stretched out on the bottom bunk. He didn’t want to make a move before he was told to, though, but he took his mask off so the man wouldn’t have anything to reprimand him for.

“That was pretty funny… what you said about him being gay?” the teen started, hoping that a conversation would put things off.

“They only consider the one getting fucked gay,” Slade let him know. “It _is_ pretty funny, actually, since it’s the one who fucks who needs to get hard.”

“So… you’re gay?”

The man gave him a look and shrugged. “I’m an opportunist. Would I fuck any of the others out there for pleasure? Hell no, they attract me as much as a bloated drowning victim. Would I do it to rise in rank? Possibly. And would I fuck you? Definitely.”

“I’m so lucky,” the teen drawled.

“Yes, you are,” the man smirked at him. “Come here.”

Robin sighed and crawled onto the bed, reaching for the man’s trousers.

“What are you doing?” Slade asked, flatly.

“Um… you said I was gonna… I thought you wanted me to…?” he gestured vaguely to Slade’s crotch.

“Aw, how sweet. No. I just wanted you to lie down so I could focus on the TV and not whether or not I’d get one of your feet in my face.”

“Oh.” Robin said and turned so he was in the spooning position the man seemed to prefer. “Oh.” He added again.

“What?”

“You… of course.”

“You better start making sense soon.”

“You expect me to attack you.”

“Again. Yes.”

“Yes… of course…”

“Explain.”

“I… I mean, it’s not like I don’t _want_ to kick your face in-”

“Cute.”

“But I’m not an idiot. It would be suicide.”

“I know you’re not an idiot, but I also know you’re a scared teenage boy and sooner or later you’re going to make a mistake.”

“Does… that mean you’re not going to punish me?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m too naïve again?”

“Yes. If you fuck up, Robin, you’re going to pay for it, and I’ll enjoy every second. I’m a bit petty like that.”

“Good to know.”

“Now shut up and let me watch TV in peace.”

Robin was happy to comply. This time Slade didn’t have the news channel on, but one with a bit of variety. The man seemed to watch only to have something to do, not for any quality. First up was one of those fake ‘documentaries’ about a couple of guys building motorcycles, then there was a cooking show, which made Robin hungry. He was used to be able to grab a snack when he wanted, and suddenly he seemed to be limited to three meals a day.

Soon another feeling started building up in his stomach, however, and this one he didn’t like.

“When… when do they close the doors?” Robin said.

“Soon. Too late to go anywhere. Why?”

“I… need the bathroom.”

“It’s right over there.”

“But I need to… to do number two?”

“Again, it’s over there.”

“I’ll hold it,” Robin muttered.

“Not to be recommended. You’re torn back there. You don’t want things to build up.”

“I fucking hate you so much!” Robin growled and got out of bed.

“That’s nothing to what you’ll feel in a few minutes,” the man chuckled.

Robin disappeared behind the partition. At least it fully hid him from the rest of the room, if not from the cameras. He sat down and tried to relax. He heard Slade move around the room and then there was the sound of the water running in the sink and the man brushing his teeth. The sound worked as an extra barrier and Robin could finally do his business. It went better than he had feared, but he still hissed with pain at the breach. When he wiped, he also discovered something unpleasant.

“I’m… I’m bleeding again,” he told Slade.

“You probably will for a few days,” the man told him unapologetically. He had undressed down to his underwear and turned off the TV.

Robin didn’t answer him and instead went to wash his hands. Then he looked around.

“I heard you brushing your teeth…?” he said.

“Use the hand scanner, then press the toothbrush symbol,” Slade told him.

Robin did, and a compartment opened, dispensing a flimsy looking toothbrush with a carboard handle.

“No toothpaste?” the teen asked.

“It’s on the brush,” the man told him.

Robin started brushing his teeth and yeah, there was something dry on the brush that created some foam as he brushed and had a vague taste of mint. He wouldn’t call it toothpaste, but it would have to do.

“Put the toothbrush back in the compartment within ten minutes,” Slade told him, just as Robin saw those instructions glowing at him from the small screen.

“Or what?” the teen asked and then heard his own words and quickly added, “I didn’t mean it as a challenge to you, I just wanted to know what they will do?”

“There is a point system. No one seems to fully understand how it works, but following the instructions on screens or via the speakers is part of it. It’s easy enough to do, only idiots challenge it.”

“Not an idiot,” Robin said and put the toothbrush back. “I don’t get it. They give us these safety items but at the same time don’t care if we kill ourselves or each other? It seems pretty… contradictory.”

“My guess is that they want to keep their own hands as clean as possible. Showing any future inspectors that ‘they did what they could’.”

“Inspections! Bruce will have the shit inspected out of this place!” Robin realized and grinned. “He’ll force it to shut down!”

“Do you know where we are? Which state?”

“I… no, I was brought on a plane, I think, but-”

“The location is top secret. The risk of people trying to break out inmates is too high. Most levels of government would even claim this place didn’t exist. If he even finds it, Bruce Wayne has no jurisdiction here. At all. I’m sure he’s going to try, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Hell, the government might just kill us all rather than admit to what is going on here.”

“But… they can’t… this is America…” Robin stuttered.

Slade laughed at him and shook his head. “Undress and come to bed. Grab the blanket from the top bed too. And turn off the lights.”

Robin numbly did what Slade had told him although the man had to guide him in how to use a hand panel to control the lights. The lights apparently turned on and off automatically, turning off at ten and turning on at wake up-call, but you could do it manually as well. His mind was still spinning with what he had been told. He had known it was bad, of course, but _this_ bad? Apparently, he was still naïve. It was pure luck that the mercenary seemed to enjoy it rather than be annoyed.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are enjoying the story, please give me some extra energy to write by leaving a review!


	3. New Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3! I’ve gotten some interesting ideas and questions from you, thank you! And thank you for the energy-reviews! 😉 I start work on Friday after a long summer of vacation, so holy shit, I’ll need it… keep it coming… 😉

Back in the position of the little spoon once more, Robin glanced at the clock. The digital numbers glowed at him from the opposite wall. It wasn’t completely dark, Robin noted with a bit of relief. There was light coming in from the corridor, through miniscule gaps where the hatch was. There was also a covered window in the door. Luckily you couldn’t look through it unless you had a key, but there was a little light from that too.

“Do you always go to bed this early, sir?” he asked, politely.

“No, but wake up is at five, work starts at seven. I’d figured we both could use what rest we can get, especially if you’re going to cry half the night.”

“I’m not going to cry!” Robin growled.

“Good. Just be quiet about it,” the man answered. “Besides, it will get colder soon.”

“Colder?”

“The temperature goes down at night. Maybe to keep people in their beds, I don’t know, but there’s a reason I’m going to use you as a literal bedwarmer.”

“Why did you undress, then? And told me to?” Robin asked curiously. He didn’t mind sleeping in just his underwear normally, but in this case, he would have preferred chain mail.

“Personal choice: either you undress for bed and get cold, or you sleep in your clothes, still get cold, and then have to wear them again the next day.”

“Bad room service in this place, not even pajamas…” the teen joked dryly.

“Complain to the management,” Slade chuckled. “Leave a bad review online. But first; shut up and try to sleep.”

Robin did. He wondered if he should say goodnight, but the whole thing was just too macabre… he was locked away in an unknown place that seemed to want to kill him in several ways, or drive him to suicide… was it good manners to say goodnight to your rapist? He almost burst out in a slightly unhinged giggle, but managed to stop himself.

He fell asleep surprisingly quickly. Maybe because Slade kept him still, maybe because his brain had had enough input for one day and simply decided to shut down. Maybe the overload of input was why he didn’t cry, either… it was just too much.

He woke up a few hours later, tightly pressed against Slade’s body and pulling a chilly foot in under the double covers. He shivered a bit.

“Cold?” Slade asked quietly.

“You weren’t kidding about the temperature change,” Robin mumbled back. “But I’m ok, I’m just gonna switch so I’m in the same cell as Mammoth, ok? He seems warm and fuzzy.”

“Yes, but also quite smelly,” Slade chuckled in his ear, and then the man’s arms tightened around him. “Be thankful for what you have, little bird.”

“Well, I bet he’s smaller than you down there. Might be worth it.”

“Why, thank you. I wouldn’t bet on it, though… do you dare risk it?”

“Seems I just need to make fifty men hard to make sure I find the smallest guy,” the teen chuckled to himself.

“Slut,” Slade snorted. “Your ass belongs to me, and I’ll make sure you’ll be thankful for it eventually.”

“Impossible, I only appreciate the _little_ things in life,” Robin claimed.

“Go to sleep, I will freeze if I have to spank you,” the man muttered.

Robin snickered to himself, knowing he was toing the line, but enjoying it. He might not be able to literally fight the man, but he’d make damn sure to prod and annoy him just enough to stay safe. “Yes, Daddy,” he therefor said, getting a grunt in reply, because the mercenary was well aware of what he was doing.

He managed to fall asleep again, in the warm cocoon of their bodies and the blankets, and suddenly there was a buzzing sound.

“Wake up call. Proceed to the cafeteria for breakfast within twenty minutes.”

Robin was up and wide awake instantly. He usually had no problems waking up and to be ready to go. After discovering how to get the room to dispense new underwear and socks to him, he dressed. He also had time to use the toilet to pee before Slade had even gotten out of the bunk. The man seemed content with watching him, with an amused expression on his face, and scratching himself.

“You seem eager to start the day? What exactly are you looking forwards to?” the man drawled.

That made the teen pause and deflate a little.

“Nothing, I guess,” he sighed. “Are we allowed back here after breakfast? I don’t want to brush my teeth before I eat if I don’t have to.”

“We are. We need to be in the work area just before seven, until then we have free range. Come here. Suck me off,” he said, releasing himself from his underwear.

Robin knew objecting wasn’t going to get him anywhere. It would only irritate Slade. He still dragged his feet, though, enough so the man noticed, and frowned.

“You can do it now or publicly during breakfast,” he said.

Robin knew that ‘now’ was the best option, so he got onto the bed and took care of business. He was quicker about it this time, though, and tried to get the man off as soon as he could. Ten minutes later he was rinsing his mouth and drinking some water while Slade dressed, after praising his newfound skills. It made Robin feel even dirtier, but he tried to suppress it. Actually, he realized, he was trying to suppress most negative thoughts towards Slade. He knew himself, and he knew he would fight the man if he didn’t. Fighting would mean certain pain and very likely death. Not fighting meant certain pain and humiliation, but was possibly the only way he could survive for now.

“Did you mean what you said that you won’t… won’t do it again until I’m healed up?” he asked the man suddenly.

“I won’t.”

“Why? To be nice?”

Slade chuckled. “No.”

Robin waited for more of an explanation, but when it didn’t come, he prodded. “Then why?”

“So you won’t get an infection and so you’ll be a better fuck later.”

“I don’t want to know, but you still need to explain…” Robin muttered. “Better fuck?”

“If it doesn’t hurt too much, you’ll likely end up liking it, and sex is always best with enthusiastic partners. As you’re gay and as you are already attracted to me, it shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“I’m not attracted to you!” Robin exclaimed, his voice going so high that it broke.

“I’ve known you were for over a year now, boy. I bet you’ve even had quite a few wet dreams about me.”

The teen’s face grew red, because the man was right.

“Actually,” Slade continued, “I believe it was the attraction that made you work so hard to finally catch me. You didn’t want to admit to it, and so you wanted me gone. You could have just asked me out, you know,” the man added with a smirk.

“I regret prodding,” the teen groaned. “I hate you; you are an evil, despicable, horrible excuse for a man, and there is no way I’ll ever enjoy you raping me.”

“So… I shouldn’t wait?” the man asked.

“I… yes! You should wait!”

“And are you grateful that I’m waiting?”

Robin glowered at the man but then looked away.

“Yes. Yes, I am. Thank you.”

“Good, then I’ll stick to my plan.”

“Great,” the teen sighed. “Can we go eat now? Maybe someone I actually _can_ beat up will annoy me.”

“Sure you’re up for fighting?” the man asked. “I’m not encouraging you, but it’s good to know. A situation might arise, and if you can’t defend yourself…”

Robin had already furtively stretched and checked his pain level and nodded. “No problem.”

“That’s my bitch. But don’t go pick fights now, that’s unnecessary.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Robin grimaced.

Breakfast was actually quite big, but as usual very tasteless. Porridge, sandwiches and two drink packages, one juice, one milk. Robin was hungry and gulped it all down.

After brushing their teeth and watching some TV, they were told by the electronic voice to head to the laundry.

“You’ll be assigned a station in there,” Slade told him, as they were waiting for the doors to open. “I don’t know if we’ll even see each other before lunch, but you should be reasonably safe. You have my permission to defend yourself, but don’t start anything. Listen to the instructions from the others at your station.”

“Do you even care about doing the job?” Robin asked. “I mean… apart from possibly pointless points, why don’t people just refuse?”

“Apparently there was a strike a few years back and no one got any clothes until the laundry worked again. There are always those who try to worm out of as much as possible, but they aren’t popular. If you work less, I need to work more, and there is a balance. Pull your load.”

“Of course,” Robin snorted which made the man chuckle.

“I’m sorry for even suggesting a flaw in the work ethics of a hero,” he said.

Robin snorted and was about to say something back, but at that moment the huge double doors opened and a humid heat, like he had never felt before, hit him in the face. He even struggled to breathe for a moment. He felt the hand of the mercenary on his back, urging him to step forward as the queue moved.

Inside, there was a line of hand scanners, and people stepped up of them, a number blinked at them from a screen and then they were off. Robin followed suite.

“Twelve?” he said, looking up at Slade.

“That’s after treatment of some sort. Easier tasks. Good. It’s over there,” he said and pointed. “I’m on station three if there’s an emergency. Don’t leave your station if there isn’t.”

Robin just nodded and went in search of number twelve. It was easy enough to find, and involved folding scrub tops.

His team consisted of four other men, one quite old in at least his sixties, and three younger, in their late twenties or so. They just nodded at him and gave him instructions. Robin didn’t recognize them as any of them who had caused trouble before, and he was glad for it.

“Faster!” one of them snapped when the pile of unfolded shirts was growing instead of going down.

“Sorry! Trying!” the teen said. He had to fold the things in a very specific way, and it took a few tries to learn.

“You’re already doing better than Stickler here did on his first day, but on the other hand he was crying so hard he couldn’t see,” the old man told him. Robin gave him a grateful smile and quietly wondered how many babies he had eaten.

“Why is it so hot in here if everyone was off yesterday?” Robin asked.

“You think it’s hot now? Wait until all the machines are running,” one of the younger men told him.

“This place is always a sauna, but it’s much better here, after the drying and flat pressing has been done,” the old man said. “This station is one of the better ones.”

Soon a conversation full of rude jokes and insults struck up. Robin quickly realized that no one was getting angry for real, and it was just a way to pass the time. He heard similar conversations from stations around him. He kept mostly out of it, though, as he didn’t want to say anything to tip the balance. He chuckled politely at the jokes, and did try to connect with the men in other ways, because he knew that being the odd one out in these groups wasn’t healthy.

The work might have been considered ‘light’ but, by lunchtime, Robin’s arms, shoulders and neck were aching. He found that the old man has been right and it was both cooler and dryer in this part of the room, but he still felt damp as he was following the others out of the double doors. The men coming from the other direction were mostly bare-chested, some were even in their underwear, and it turned out Slade was one of the shirtless ones.

“Hot?” Robin asked.

“No change of clothes, remember?” Slade said.

“I’m surprised people would care about smelling.”

“If you feel disgusting it’s not easy to feel good about yourself.”

“I’m not sure people here are _supposed_ to feel good about having eaten babies, and whatever,” Robin muttered, loud enough only for Slade to hear.

“Right, but people don’t want to end up feeling the need to drink bleach either. A shower and fresh clothes can actually be an important first step… you’ve never experienced that?”

Robin thought back. He had had days, in the past, where he had felt more than just a little down. Caught up in thought of his parents, of failures, of responsibilities, pressure… yes, he’d been there and the man was right, showers hadn’t been high on the list of priorities at those times.

“I understand, sir,” he nodded.

“Good. Let’s eat, we have forty-five minutes.”

It was a bit strange to have lunch surrounded by now mostly half naked men, but Robin figured it made no sense for them to shower and dress until the workday was over. The smell from some left something to be desired, though, and the teen was glad that Slade, at least, didn’t stink. The man actually smelled rather good to Robin, something the teen found strange. Others, that walked by, had that horrible sour stench that reminded him of old urine.

After lunch Slade showed him that he had to use the hand scanner again, to find out his station, as you always moved around. This time he got station one. It turned out to be sorting. They were four in total at this station too. One grabbed socks, one underwear, one shirts and one pants, out of the mountain of unwashed clothes. Not as nice as the previous station as some of the clothes smelled quite bad. Robin was surprised when his new ‘coworkers’ told him to sort the pants and put them in what reminded him of a shopping cart of sorts. He was sure he’d get to handle the underwear, which must have been much more disgusting, but he didn’t complain. He worked as quickly as he could, filling up the basket of the cart.

“You need to take it to station two when it’s filled,” he was suddenly told.

“Oh. Ok, no problem,” Robin said and grabbed the cart.

“Mind taking mine too?” the shirt-guy asked. Robin could see the smirk and understood that something was up, but he was going to be the good guy here, so he nodded, awkwardly dragging both carts away. This part of the vast room was the hot part. Hot and clammy. Robin hadn’t taken his clothes off, and they were already more than a little damp.

As the stations were marked with big numbers on walls and floor it was no problem getting there, and ‘there’ turned out to be the actual laundry, row after row with huge cylinders which turned out to be washing machines.

“Here’s more clothes, where do you want it?” Robin asked two guys that seemed to be standing around.

“Where do _you_ want it, cutie?” one of the men leered.

“That’s Deathstroke’s bitch,” his friend told him. “You might want to back off.”

“What Wilson doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” the first guy snorted.

“It will hurt you, though. A lot,” Robin said. “I’m not here to fight, I just need to know where to drop this off,” he said, indicating the carts.

“Hey, I’m not about fighting either,” the first and said in, what he probably thought, a smooth voice. “Make love, not war, huh? You can take a break for a few minutes, can’t you?”

“Listen, you are going to lie on the floor in pain if you get any closer,” Robin sighed. “Daddy gave me permission to defend myself.”

“Heard he fought Mammoth,” guy number two said.

“Yes, I did. Broke his nose. The guy here,” Robin said, pointing at the second man, “is clever. You should listen to him.” The first man was big but nowhere near as big as Mammoth or Slade. He was the kind of big where his mum probably proudly referred to him as “her big boy” when what he really was, was overweight. He was still tall, though, and seemed to have some strength to him, so the teen didn’t want to be backed into a corner or let him get a hold of him.

“Just a little kiss…?” the man said and made disgusting kissing noises at him.

“Alright,” Robin said. “Kiss my heel,” he added, and spun around.

A moment later the man was indeed on the floor, clutching both his mouth and his groin. He didn’t look like he was going to get up for a bit, so Robin turned to guy number two with a tired sigh.

“Please just show me where to dump this so I can get back to work?” he said.

“Sure, no problem. Is that both shirts and pants?” the man asked like his friend wasn’t groaning in pain a few feet away.

“Yup.”

“Ok, let’s see. Machine five needs one more load of pants before we can run it. And the shirts go in machine… ten,” he said, checking a clipboard. “I’ll show you,” he added. Robin then realized that his mountain of shirts was hell to lift into the machine.

“You shouldn’t take this much at one time,” he was told.

“Yeah, they didn’t tell me,” the teen grunted as he lifted the basket. “But I still think it’s weird that I didn’t get the underwear…”

“They probably wanted to mess with you, that’s why you have two carts too, right? And pants and shirts are heavier… but the real reason might be that there are a few people who… kinda likes the dirty stuff.”

“Eewww…” Robin said. “Bless them. May I work with them on every shift on that station.” He added with a grin.

The man chuckled. “Yeah. And only take your cart and fill it just enough each time and you’ll have easier runs.”

“Thanks! Nice to meet someone that seems decent in here. How many babies have you eaten?” Robin asked.

“What…? I… no. No babies. Although I’ve probably killed some. Remember the massive gas explosion in Texas a few years back?”

“Where half the city…? Yeah… that was… you?”

“Yeah. Got energy powers. Kinda lost control. Found out the military was training me to use as a human nuclear bomb… and I could have been. I only was a _little_ angry at that point.”

“Oh… shit. Sorry,” Robin said.

“I’m Leeds,” the man said and held his hand out. “Aron Leeds.”

“Robin.” They shook hands. Leeds weren’t what you would call good looking. He was of average height but looked like he spent some time in the gym. He looked to be of Spanish descent, if the teen had to guess, and his brown eyes were that kind of bloodshot that seemed to be practically permanent. “So… you’re… innocent?” the teen asked.

“Hell no, I killed thousands that day,” the man shrugged.

“Yes, but it wasn’t… your fault?”

“No, I guess, but I was naïve. I thought they were going to help me. That’s on me.”

“And so they… put you in here?”

“Yup. Basically, I’m here to change my mind. They have made it clear that as long as I agree to help them, I can leave. But fuck them. I’m not gonna be their weapon. With this thing,” he said, pointing to his collar, “I feel safe. For the first time in a very long time. Sure, this place sucks, but at least I don’t have to eradicate cities.”

“Some people in here would love to do that,” Robin drawled as he heaved the last of the laundry into the machine.

“Don’t I know it. Gotten a bit of heat over it, actually…. Which brings me to… you think you could put in a good word for me with Deathstroke? For, um… helping you? A bit?”

“Love to. Not sure he’d listen to me, but I will,” Robin smiled.

“Great. Look me up after work and I’ll give you some tips on the different stations,” the man said.

“I will, if I’m allowed to,” Robin nodded. “Sl- Daddy is… pretty strict.”

“Yeah, he’s shown he’s not to be trifled with. Killed two people his first week.”

Robin swallowed. “Really?”

“Yeah. They both started it, though. Gang leaders. Meaning the leaders in those gangs now has Wilson to thank for their promotion… That also means things are not super stable yet either, but... when is it, really?”

Robin shrugged. “Right. I need to get back. Later!”

When he passed the still groaning man on the floor the guy reached for his ankle. A quick stomp gave him something new to groan about.

When he got back to the station he was met with smirks.

“Hey kid, take my cart back too!” he was told, a cart piled high with underwear pushed at him.

“Fuck you,” Robin answered pleasantly, and started sorting again.

The work day ended at four in the afternoon and, by that time, Robin was both soaked and starving. There were water dispensers all throughout the room so people wouldn’t die from heatstroke and dehydration and Robin didn’t know how many liters he had gulped down, but it seemed he had sweated them all out again.

“Shower?” Slade asked him with a smirk as they met by the doors.

“Yes please,” Robin groaned. Again, he had gotten sore from the repetitive movements, and in his condition, he didn’t even mind the open shower system.

“Heard your bitch kicked Peterson in the teeth today,” someone said to Slade.

“Did he now?” Slade asked Robin pointedly.

“Yes, Daddy, sorry I haven’t had time to tell you yet. I was going to, at dinner,” the teen claimed. “A guy called Leeds was really helpful. He warned the guy not to try anything because I was yours, but he wouldn’t listen, so I followed your orders and defended myself.”

“That’s a good bitch. Don’t let others touch you unless I say so,” the man nodded. Robin felt like the words were for the other’s benefit and the nod was a sign for him. Of approval. He let out a breath he hadn’t even been aware that he was holding; Slade wasn’t angry.

As he got out of the shower he dried, and then picked up his damp clothes again with a disgusted face.

“Have you learned your lesson?” Slade wanted to know.

“Yeah. Save my clothes,” Robin sighed.

“Good. Here.” The man handed him a whole new set of clothes, including underwear and socks, all very tightly wrapped rolled into a small roll.

“But… how did you?” Robin started.

“Stole them. If they find out I’d figured I could stand to lose a point or two, just as long as you have learned something. Just this once, though.”

“Thank you,” Robin smiled.

“Did you forget something?”

“What? Oh,” Robin realized. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Someone’s getting spoiled.” It was Zaid.

“Yes. Me. Why should I put up with a smelly bitch?” Slade snorted. 

At dinner the mercenary stood up.

“Listen up! I want a man named Leeds to make himself known. The quicker the better!”

“H-Here, sir!” someone squawked.

“Was this the man?” Slade asked Robin, who nodded, hoping he hadn’t gotten him in trouble somehow.

“Leeds, you honored my ownership of my bitch by warning your dead station-mate against trying to touch him. I appreciate that.”

“I… so-sorry sir, but Peterson, the... the guy who- well... he’s… he’s not dead.”

“Oh,” Slade said and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe someone should take care of that, then? It would be a nice gesture of loyalty. Come see me when it’s rectified.”

Robin had felt his color drain as Slade spoke and he had to force himself to eat the rest on his plate.

As they left, Robin saw that Slade was heading to the common room, and lightly put a hand on his arm.

“Could we just go to the cell for a moment?”

“You can go on your own.”

“No, I… just needed to talk,” Robin whispered.

The man looked a bit surprised, but agreed.

Once the door was closed behind them the teen took a deep breath.

“You need to call off that kill!”

“I ‘need to’, huh?” the man smirked.

“Leeds is not like that, he’s a good guy, he’s innocent,” Robin said. “Please don’t make him hurt anyone! He’d be loyal to you anyway, or let him prove it in some other way!”

“Good guy? Innocent?” Slade blinked and then burst out in a short laugh. “He’s been here for years, if he needs my protection, he’ll do what he has to.”

“But he shouldn’t have to! I’m sure he won’t, but-”

Suddenly there was a click from the door and then a warning sound blared. “Lockdown. Remain where you are. Lockdown. Remain where you are.”

“What-?” Robin exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“I’m not saying it has to be Leeds, but if it is, he gets extra points for being quick,” the mercenary said.

“No! Dammit!” Robin groaned.

“In the meanwhile, let’s see what Santa has brought us, shall we?” Slade said.

“Huh?” Robin, for a split second, thought the man had gone completely insane, but then he noticed a small paper bag on the bottom bunk.

“Perfect,” Slade said and showed him a rather large bottle with a hand pump which the teen first thought was soap, before realizing the dreadful truth. Lube. “Take your clothes off.”

“But… but you promised not to-”

“I won’t fuck you; I’ll just examine you,” the man told him. “I’d suggest you comply without another word, because you’ve not been a very respectful bitch since we came back to the room.”

“But-” Robin started. He didn’t get any further before he was slammed into the wall, and, as he was held by his still tender throat, his clothes were ripped to tatters.

“There,” Slade said, stepping back from the naked teen. “Go to the bed. Place your hands on the bottom bunk and spread your legs.”

Robin obeyed, though he was shaking slightly. He had gotten too used to just talking to Slade, that he had almost forgotten the bouts of violence the man was more than capable of. A large, warm hand ran from the top of his back to his ass, like someone trying to calm a pet. Robin wasn’t calm at all; he was worried about the pain. He could take pain, lots of it, he was good at ignoring it… but that was a different kind of pain. Not something like this. This was too… intimate. He almost launched forwards when Slade parted his cheeks. The man’s hands tightened on him, in warning.

“There, there,” Slade told him. “It doesn’t look too bad.”

Robin hissed as something cold touched him back there, and almost stood on his toes to get away as he felt Slade’s finger pushing inside. He got a slap on his ass, and the sting took the focus off what was happening, and allowed the man to slide his finger inside.

“Good. You’re alright,” the man told him. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“N-no, but… I … I don’t like it, could… could you… stop?” Robin begged. “Please… Daddy?”

“Stand up, put your hands on the top bunk instead,” Slade told him, and Robin, thinking it was all over, compiled quickly. The feeling down there was uncomfortable, and, at the same time… Robin didn’t know. Suddenly Slade moved the finger, however, curling it, and Robin was on his toes again.

“Oh!” he gasped. “Please! Don’t!” It hadn’t hurt, more the opposite, but Robin didn’t like this either.

“Don’t you dare say no to me, bitch!” Slade growled and gave him a harder swat on the ass. The pain was better than the tingles of pleasure to Robin, who decided he wanted more.

“Fuck you!” he therefore snarled and got his wish as he was hit again, although this time it hurt a little bit too much. The teen bit his bottom lip and rested his forehead against the edge of the top bunk, closing his eyes and deciding to just wait until it was over.

The finger continued to stroke and massage that place inside him, though, until he was trembling and gasping. He felt himself pushing back towards the intruder, wanting it deeper inside. The world turned into a blur and suddenly the man reached around and stroked a finger along the teen’s cock. His hard, weeping cock. Robin hadn’t even noticed. The single touch, paired with yet another stroke against his prostate, sent him over the edge. He cried out, wordlessly, and it didn’t seem like it would ever stop. Steak after streak landed on the bed below.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Robin didn’t know when, Slade had stepped away, and was washing his hands as the teen sank down to his knees, gasping.

“You’ll clean that up,” the man told him, indicating the cum on the bed.

“Yes, sir…” Robin gasped.

“With your tongue.”

“Yes… sir…” the teen repeated, more unwillingly this time. Then he changed his mind. He deserved it. He deserved a punishment after allowing himself to enjoy what the man had done to him. That lack of control was unacceptable. Maybe licking up his own cum would teach him that. So he did. Once Slade had approved, the teen cleaned himself up on the toilet. There wasn’t any blood.

“Lockdown lifted. Lockdown lifted,” the speakers said, and their door clicked.

“Come on, we’re going to the common room, I’m curious about what has happened,” Slade said.

“I need to dress!” Robin said, then realizing his clothes were in tatters.

“No, you don’t. You need an attitude adjustment. Come. Now.”

People were flocking to the common room, and many of them ogled him and whistled. Slade had forbidden him from covering himself in any way, so Robin had just straightened his back and tried to look indifferent.

Some of the men in the common room looked a bit worse for wear and a few of them snarled at Slade when he entered.

“Here’s the man we have to thank for getting stunned, guys,” Zaid announced.

“How are you getting a little zap my fault?” Slade snorted.

“Because you ordered the hit!” the lizard said.

Robin noticed that the room smelled of bleach and he could see a spot on the floor that looked wet.

“I didn’t know Leeds would be stupid enough to do it in the common room,” Slade said.

“He didn’t,” a new voice cut in. “But a man’s gotta defend himself, right?” The voice had a weird lisp quality to it and Peterson stepped up. He had lost a few teeth from Robin’s kick, it seemed. Other than that, he appeared unharmed.

“You killed Leeds?” Slade asked him.

“Sure did! Stabbed him right in the guts. The bastards took my shank. You owe me Wilson! My teeth, the hit on me, the shank… I say I get your bitch for the night.”

Robin froze. Slade was in a punishing sort of mood.

“You started it by not respecting my claim,” Slade growled. “I suggest you control yourself from now on.”

“You and what army?”

Robin almost burst out laughing from hearing Peterson say that. Was this a playground?

“Alright.” Slade sighed like he was a parent on said playground, surrounded by unruly children. “I suggest that everyone who doesn’t have a problem with me or my claim to the bitch, leave. Now. I’m not joking. I’m doing you a favor. Accept it.”

Some people were already out the door before he finished speaking. Other grunted and dragged their feet a little. About ten people stayed, however, among them Zaid and his gang. Robin didn’t like the way the lizard was looking at him.

“There’s a German expression… do any of you speak German?” Slade asked. “No? Oh, well, it goes ‘ _get ready to bolt out the door’_ ,” he said, in German. He was met by blank faces but when his eyes met Robin’s the teen nodded minutely. He had understood. “It means,” Slade said, “’Do we really want to rock the boat?’ The bitch is mine. Accept it, or pay.”

“I’m just saying I have the right to borrow him,” Peterson almost whined. Robin looked at the man who was standing opposite Slade. The guy wasn’t afraid. Even Zaid didn’t look that confident. The teen silently wondered if Peterson might be a little bit… slow.

Slade stepped back and gestured to Robin, who had instinctively moved with him, towards the door.

“Very well, then. I don’t want any trouble,” Slade said.

Peterson grinned and walked up to Robin, who met his eyes coldly. Just as the man reached out to touch the teen, however, Slade moved, grabbed his head and snapped his neck. Robin froze as the dead man’s body then was thrown into the rest of his gang and then Slade dragged the teen with him into the hallways, just a moment before the door slammed shut. An angry shout from indoors turned into a scream.

“What is happening?” Robin asked as he followed Slade back towards their cell.

“They are getting stunned. Again.” the man grunted. “So the body can be removed. I told you to run, didn’t you understand?”

“I… I did, I just…” Robin faltered.

“Fine, let’s go back to our cell,” the man snapped. Robin swallowed. Slade wasn’t in the best of moods.

“Will it even be open?”

“Yes, they are following our movement, they will unlock it for us,” Slade said, indicating the cameras. “They want the hallways empty and if we comply, it means less problems for them, and less pain for us.”

“What…” Robin swallowed, not sure he wasn’t to even suggest this. “What if we stay out and… fight them?”

Slade barked out a laugh. “We don’t have shock collars, but they have other ways to take us out remotely, without even entering. Darts and stunners in the walls, for example. If they want you unconscious, you’ll be unconscious.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“Still like your attitude,” the man smirked at him.

Robin grunted but felt a bit better, as it didn’t seem Slade’s anger was directed at him.

As soon as they had closed their door behind them, it clicked locked.

“Lockdown until morning,” they were informed by the voice.

“Seems mom and dad has had enough of our shenanigans and we’ve been grounded for the night,” Slade snorted. He then let out a growl and hit the wall, “Dammit!” he snarled.

Robin had flown up to the top bunk, just to be out of the way, and looked down at the man worriedly while removing his mask.

“Sorry, sir,” he said meekly. “I didn’t know Leeds asking for a favor would lead to all this.”

“I don’t blame you,” Slade grunted. “I was the one who fucked up. I should have talked to Leeds before giving him the assignment. And maybe I shouldn’t have killed Peterson… but the alternative…” the man gestured to Robin who understood that he had been the other option, or his body anyway.

“Thanks…” Robin mumbled softly.

“Zaid and his gang will most likely cause problems now.”

“I’ll help fight them!” Robin said.

The man smirked up at him.

“How sweet.”

“No, I just don’t want to fall into their hands, so I guess I have to save your ass. Daddy,” he added.

The man snorted. “Well, I’d be a fool to turn you down. You’re a good fighter. Maybe we need to show them just how good. We might be forced to, if nothing else.”

Robin tried not to visibly preen.

Slade paced the small space and ,for the first time, Robin got the impression that the man felt trapped. The man had seemed to be in such control, but maybe that was only on the surface. A stir-crazy Slade wasn’t someone Robin wanted to share a cell with.

“I didn’t want to form a gang,” Slade told him irritably. “It’s protection, yes, but also a pain in the ass. Not to mention that your own members might try to take over your role, so you’ll have to fight them too. Recruiting might turn the other gangs against me as well.”

“Can’t you take over Zaid’s gang then?” Robin asked, having no love for the reptile.

“It’s a risk.”

“Is he a good fighter?”

“I haven’t seen him fight, only bite people.”

“Let me fight him,” Robin offered.

Slade looked up at him like he had heard something very odd. “What?”

“Just for a bit. As a … game? Challenge? No biting? Then you can study his skills and then make a decision.”

“It’s risky.”

“Yeah, well, I might get a chance to kick him in the eye…?” Robin grinned.

“We’ll see,” Slade said.

They were quiet for a while.

“I got him killed,” Robin suddenly said. “It’s my fault. I should have explained properly.”

“Like I said, I take the blame,” Slade snorted.

“He seemed like a good guy,” Robin said and then frowned as Slade chuckled. “He did! I don’t think what happened was his fault, he was just being used!”

“Well, if anyone could find a good guy in here it would be you,” the man grunted.

“He would have been useless to me, though, if he wasn’t willing or able to be a real threat.”

“You prefer baby-eaters, I get it.”

“Miles can’t fight worth a shit either,” Slade let him know.

“Ah,” Robin said. They were both quiet for a bit. Then Robin noticed that the sheet on the top bunk had been replaced. He mentioned it offhandedly and got an unexpected reaction as Slade sighed.

“Great, that means we’re doing bedlinen tomorrow. Once every two weeks.”

“What’s so bad about that?” Robin asked.

“It’s heavy work, people get extra irritated,” Slade told him.

“Oh damn…” Robin sighed. “Typical.”

“Well, nothing we can do about it. Hopefully they won’t try to get back at us during work hours. Or me, I should say.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they will leave me completely alone if they go after you,” Robin muttered. “Man, I’m hungry… you get as much food as I do, why aren’t you starving?” he added.

“Who says I’m not?” the man snorted. “Well… no, not starving, not with three meals a day, but I have more dreams about food than can possibly be normal,” he added with a small grin. “You’ll adapt. Drink lots of water.”

Robin sighed and nodded. “I won’t even say ‘who do I have to fuck for some food around here’, because you’ll probably give me a few names,” he tried to joke.

“I have a few suggestions, yeah,” Slade chuckled. “But there’s a never-ending source of protein right here,” he said, gesturing to his groin.

“I’m on a diet,” Robin said innocently. It was always a risk to be flippant with Slade, but the teen had started to learn when it was ok and when it wasn’t. To have to adapt to someone else like this was something he had learned with Batman too, although Bruce never hurt him, of course. Not with words. An eyeroll, making the Boy Wonder feel stupid, could sting too, though.

Slade only chuckled and turned on the TV. Nothing happened.

“Oh no,” Robin whispered.

“Damnit,” Slade grunted. “Very well, Robin. You know what that means. You’re the entertainment tonight.”

“You…. Don’t have a deck of cards, do you?” the teen asked hopefully.

“Get down here,” Slade just told him as he undressed then and laid down on the bottom bunk.

Robin, still buck naked, climbed down and found himself drawn into the arms of an equally naked Slade. Expecting that the man wanted a blow job, the teen just waited to be pushed downwards, but instead the man seemed content with exploring his body with his hands.

“What… what are you doing?” Robin asked, half in shock, half laughing, as the man’s lips brushed his shoulder.

“Exploring you. Feel free to do the same back.”

“You… want me to… touch you?” Robin wanted to be disgusted, but a feeling of intrigue took over.

“Heavens knows you barely get a chance to when we fight,” the man smirked.

“Hey!”

“Am I wrong?”

“I’ll tell you what you are, you’re a- ahh!” Slade had just bit the side of his neck. Not hard, but it was surprising enough for the teen to stop talking. Which might have been for the best.

Robin’s hands had flown up, touching the man’s shoulder and arm like he was going to push him away. Now they just rested there, a little bit awkwardly. Slade didn’t let Robin’s passiveness stop him, however, he continued to kiss, lick, bite and caress the teen’s skin, though staying away from the more sensitive areas.

Robin felt the bulging muscle under the palm of his hand, and carefully curled his fingers, moving his hand just slightly along the man’s arm. He had seen muscles like these before, he had grown up around Batman and Superman, among many other muscular male heroes and villains, but he had never, ever touched any like this. Now he had gotten permission. He became almost entranced as his fingers traced the bulging arms, the thick neck, the chiseled chest. Slade might as well have been made out of warm, moving marble. Perfect, sans a few scars and of course the mysterious missing or injured eye. Robin had never seen under the patch, and now his fingers found a new path. His hand was stopped, however, just before it reached its goal.

“There are more interesting places to explore,” the man told him with a knowing smirk. It broke the spell, though, and Robin withdrew, blushing. “Oh no, don’t get shy,” Slade purred and pulled him closer again. This time the man kissed his way to Robin’s nipple, which made the teen gasp and arch a little.

“W-why are you… doing this?” Robin asked, his voice shaking.

“Doing what?” the man asked in the worst impression of innocence the teen had ever heard.

Robin didn’t know what to answer. ‘Making me feel good’ would just admit that he _was_ , indeed, feeling good. In the end he settled for; “Being… being… nice.”

The man chuckled.

“If someone is really good at an instrument, Robin,” he answered, “they could still keep to simple tunes, but where is the challenge in that? Using your body to satisfy my needs is easy enough, but having you mewling with pleasure under my touch…? Me, someone who has beaten you and raped you? Your enemy? And yet, you succumb to me like this… your will has been broken down until there’s only raw bodily instinct left; lust. That takes more skill than merely taking you.”

If the man had stopped touching him during his little speech, Robin would have most likely completely snapped out of it, but instead the man’s caresses had gotten more intense and intimate, and now their bodies were rubbing together.

“I… really… really… hate you…” Robin found himself able to groan, but that was it.

The man chuckled and slowly rolled on top of him, not putting any weight on him, only enough pressure to keep him still. The man then kissed his jawline, and then pulled back a little. Robin knew what was coming just before their lips met and he pulled away.

“What now?” the man asked. His voice held curiosity, but also a bit of an edge, warning the teen not to be _too_ difficult.

“I’ve… I’ve never… not… not a man,” Robin said. “Could… could we… not?”

“Aw, so sweet, wanting to save your first kiss for someone special?” Slade smirked. “How do you know the men you killed didn’t kiss you, by the way?”

“I… I don’t… but… but I don’t remember, so…”

“Expecting to meet the love of your life in here?” Slade asked coldly.

“N-no, but that doesn’t mean-”

“So, you are expecting to ever leave? Silly little bird. You’ll never see the sky again. Now, give me what I want.” The man grabbed his hair, keeping him still, and then his lips claimed Robin’s harshly.

A shock went through the young hero at Slade’s words. It was something he hadn’t thought about. Never see the sky. As far as he knew there was no area outdoors in this prison, but he hadn’t realized what that meant until now. No sky. No sun. No wind. No air. He couldn’t breathe. He really couldn’t breathe!

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. Please review, to comfort Robin if nothing else… 😉 See you next week!


	4. New Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it ok to ask for reviews when I don’t answer them? I’m so sorry, but I started work again and writing time has been severely reduced, but I’m thinking you might rather the story to continue than getting a “thank you!”? Reviews still fuels me, though, and if you have a direct question I promise to answer! Please forgive a somewhat stressed sladin-writer?

He didn’t know how much time had passed since everything went dark, but suddenly he got ice cold water in his face. He gasped and his eyes flew open.

“Get it together,” Slade, who was standing over him with cupped hands, grunted.

Robin stared up at him and suddenly felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He tried to say something, but the breath he drew turned into a sob. Then another. And another. He couldn’t stop. He rolled over, against the wall, away from Slade, so the man wouldn’t see, wouldn’t get angrier, but the emotions welling up inside were too much. Robin screamed into a pillow, pummeled the wall with his fists and just cried and cried and cried.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because when he woke up, it was dark… and it was cold. Really cold. He was covered with a blanket, but was still shivering slightly. His throat was raw and his whole face felt crusty. He numbly got out of bed, with the blanket wrapped around himself for warmth. He washed his face in hot water and then turned the temperature down to drink some too.

“Cold?” Slade’s voice curt through the dark. Robin realized that the man had been sleeping in the top bunk.

“M-hmm.” Robin mumbled affirmatively, not sure if his voice would hold.

“You can come up here. It’s not an order, it’s an offer,” Slade told him.

Robin thought of refusing, but it was cold enough to make sense, so he grabbed his pillow and climbed up. Sliding under Slade’s blanket while the man arranged the one Robin had brought over them, was heaven. A warm heaven, which might have been a contradiction, but still. The teen shamelessly molded himself to the man, who put an arm around him as usual.

“You owe me a fun night,” the man told him, sounding like he was already falling back to sleep.

“Sure…” Robin mumbled tiredly, and let himself sink back into the darkness again, just enjoying the warmth seeping into his body.

He awoke abruptly to the morning wake up call, and was on the verge of falling out of bed before Slade caught him.

“I think we’ll stick to the bottom bunk,” the man said, as Robin, who wasn’t afraid of heights at all, still experienced a shocking sense of vertigo as he was staring down onto the floor below.

“Lets,” he agreed, before finding his bearings and jumping down.

He was happy to find that the dispenser had new clothes for him today. He had been worried about this being a day where he wouldn’t get any. 

The tension at breakfast could be cut with a knife, but nothing happened.

“Watch your back today,” Slade told Robin before they entered the laundry. The teen nodded in reply. He had learned his lesson and taken his shirt off, so it would still be fresh after work. He preferred to keep his pants on, however, at least for now.

Slade had been right about the change of washing, and, after finishing up a load or two of clothes, the rest was bed linens. Robin was placed on a station where he had to carry the wet loads and then sort them to be pressed. It was heavy with few chances to take a break as the many washing machines were so quick. No one spoke to him much, but his new ‘team’ at least answered his work-related questions so he could do his job. The hours up to lunch dragged by and the teen started to feel lonely. He was surrounded by people, which made the feeling even worse. It was a kind of isolation he had never experienced before. He had always appreciated some alone time now and then, but it had always been his choice to withdraw. His feelings were also laced with guilt for having the one, seemingly, nicer guy around here killed. It sucked.

He kept his eye out for Zaid’s gang, but luckily none of them seemed to have been placed close to him.

When they were waiting to leave for lunch, all of them crowding together to exit through the doors, one of them was suddenly by his side, however. Robin thought it might be a coincidence, until he glanced the other way, to see another one there. Next thing he knew, someone punched him hard in the back. After that, punches started raining down on him, but it was crowded so no one had the space to get a really good hit in. Robin blocked what he could, and he noticed that they were trying to force him down on the floor. He knew he’d be dead if that happened. Even though people found it difficult to punch and kick, there was still room to stomp, and this time they weren’t trying to just hold him down, they were trying to hurt him. The whole thing was chaos. Not everyone was going for Robin, some seemed to be defending him, but with everyone much taller than himself, it was difficult to tell. He needed to get higher.

As someone stumbled to his knees close by, the teen got the leverage he needed and launched off the man’s shoulder. He then jumped from shoulder to shoulder, enemy or possible ally didn’t matter. The tallest one close by was his hairy ‘friend’, and Robin ended up sitting on his shoulders after stumbling, as someone had tried to grab his ankle.

“Hi Mammoth, thanks for helping me!” he said chipperly.

“Not helping you!” the large man roared, but didn’t even move to shake him off.

“Come on, you don’t like the lizard boy either, do you?” said, hoping he’d be right. “Have you seen Deathstroke?” he added, foregoing calling the man ‘Daddy’ as he honestly thought it might confuse the huge oaf.

The meta human grunted and waded through the crowd. Robin looked in the direction he was moving and saw a circle forming half way across the room. Slade would be in the middle of that circle for sure.

He was. And he was keeping people away too, but Mammoth breaking through did help. Slade almost clocked the guy before he saw Robin on his shoulders. The teen started using his perch as place to fight back from as well. Mammoth basically just stood there as the fight raged around him, not sure what to do. Robin was glad that it took the big guy time to make up his mind as he helped to even out the fight. Soon the room cleared enough so that the two main groups could face each other. There were about ten people in each group, the rest had either withdrawn, to stay out of the whole thing, or were injured.

“So heartwarming to see such a devoted bitch,” Zaid smirked at him.

“My Daddy takes good care of me,” Robin claimed with a sweet smile. “I want to make him proud.”

“How about,” Slade growled, “we stop this now?”

“How about we _end_ it now?” Zaid snarled.

“Daddy?” Robin asked, still in his innocent voice.

“Yes, bitch?”

“The prison people, do they zap inmates for brawling?”

“If they find it necessary.”

“Well, you and I, we don’t have any collars on, so we’ll remain standing, right?”

“Yes. For a while longer at least.”

“Oh, then why don’t we keep fighting? We should have plenty of time to finish things once they have zapped these people and before the guards come, won’t we?”

Some of their opponents started to look a bit uneasy.

Slade smirked “We have.” He looked at Zaid and threw out his hands like he wanted to ask if they should get going.

There was an outdrawn pause while everyone seemed to reevaluate the situation. Then Zaid held his hands up.

“We have done what we set out to do, we’ve shown what we think of troublemakers,” he said.

Slade snorted but didn’t reply. The lizard man continued. “A truce. For now.”

“How… gracious,” Slade said. It was obvious by his tone that he thought the alien was just trying to save his own skin. “Come, bitch. We better get some lunch before the cafeteria closes.”

That got everyone moving, no one wanted to work the rest of the day without food. 

“I wish I had a weapon,” Robin muttered quietly to Slade as they ate. He didn’t have to be too quiet as no one had chosen to sit anywhere near their table.

“I like the way you think, but the odds of getting a gun in here…” Slade said, trailing off to indicate how likely it was.

“Not a gun!” The teen hissed. “A staff or something… I’d be super happy for a broom handle or a piece of pipe.”

“Ah, yes, I forgot that you were raised stupid,” the man smirked at him.

The teen huffed. “Are you saying there’s nothing to gain from extending one’s reach in a fight?” he asked sarcastically.

“Isn’t that what a gun does?” the mercenary asked back, very innocently.

“I don’t like guns,” Robin muttered, and shuffled more food into his mouth.

“Like I said; you were raised stupid,” the man chuckled. “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I raised you.”

“Eew,” Robin said, making a face.

Slade, on the other hand, looked surprised. “I had expected denial, anger… but disgust? Why?” he asked.

“Well, then you’d be like my… like my father,” the teen said, forcing the words out. “And then I imagined us in this position, and… eeew.”

“Well, I of course wouldn’t fuck you if you were like a son to me,” the man snorted.

“Um, I literally _am_ forced to call you ‘Daddy’,” the teen drawled.

“An epithet that’s forced on us both… and which I noticed you seemed to have decided to drop at the moment…?”

“Sorry, Daddy,” Robin hurriedly mumbled.

“Better. But no, of course not. If, for some reason, we had to pretend, we’d do just that, I assume. Pretend. I could have cut myself to produce the blood on the sheets, for example,” the man shrugged. “I considered doing it, actually.”

“You… you did...? You considered to just pretend to have raped me…?” the teen whispered.

“Yes, of course. I try to think about things from different angles…”

“But… then why… why _did_ you?” Robin asked.

The man just looked at him as he took a sip from his ‘juice box’. “I wanted to,” he then said and smirked. “And I’m glad I did. Can’t wait to do it again. Now… I think it’s time to get back to work.”

Robin numbly followed him back to the laundry. In any other place he’d be attacking him or running the other way, but in here it was like he was on a leash, and straying too far from the man who had just flippantly talked about raping him, meant he’d most likely be hurt _worse_.

Once they got to their stations, it turned out that they had been assigned to the same one.

“Do you think the guards or someone made sure we’re together, so we wouldn’t get attacked?” Robin asked the man in a whisper. Slade was still chuckling about that one fifteen minutes later.

Robin discovered one perk to working at the same station as Slade; it seemed that no one expected him to be the ‘bitch’ here. The others spoke to him and Slade equally and treated them basically the same, whereas people didn’t normally address him outside of work unless they were looking for trouble, at least after Slade had claimed him. Robin stayed friendly but reserved, however. Part of him was pretty sure that if he made another ‘friend’ in here, he’d die as well. Besides, he was still nervous, and kept looking over his shoulder. No one was looking back. The teen refused to let his guard down, however, and was almost vibrating with tension when it was time to leave. Nothing happened. People seemed to stay away from them even more, but two days passed with no retaliation.

Robin missed the TV badly, because Slade really treated him like entertainment when they were back in their cell. The man seemed to constantly need another blow job or enjoyed touching the teen everywhere. He hadn’t fucked him, yet, but Robin knew it was coming. He hadn’t bled at all for a while now and the man had fingered him a few times. The teen, of course, didn’t tell Slade that he hadn’t bled and tried very hard to think of other things when the man touched him too intimately, but at least it didn’t hurt. Not really. At most it was uncomfortable. But, the hero figured, it was only fingers. The real thing wasn’t something he looked forwards to.

“Do you think you’ll get the TV-privileges back?” Robin asked sleepily. It was morning and the buzzer would go off any moment, but the teen had been awake for a while thinking about the punishment system. He hadn’t gotten out from under the blankets, however, because of the warmth.

“You articulate very well for having my cock in your mouth,” the man muttered.

“I don’t have-” the hero started.

“That was a _hint_ , Robin.”

“Oh.” The teen muttered under his breath while trying to crawl downwards while staying under the covers as much as possible. “Can you at least answer… Daddy?” he asked.

“Will I have to beat you before I get my blow job?” the man grunted. He was obviously not in a good mood, so Robin quickly got to work. “Good bitch. And I don’t know. A week at best. Never, at worst.”

Robin didn’t dare stop what he was doing to answer, but he made a noise between a hum and a grunt to show that he had heard. The buzzer that was their wakeup call was heard and the teen upped his efforts a bit, not wanting to be late for breakfast. They did have plenty of time in the morning, but he wanted to eat early when most of their fellow prisoners hadn’t made it to the cafeteria yet.

“My, my, aren’t we eager today?” the man hummed teasingly. Robin pretended not to hear, of course. “I think I’ll fuck you tonight,” the man continued. That made the teen react, gulping and getting more of the man’s shaft than he had bargained for. “Deep-throating too? Is it my birthday?” the mercenary chuckled. “No, no,” he added when the teen struggled to pull back. “You can take more, I’m sure.” A hand pushed down on Robin’s head as Slade’ hips pushed upwards. The teen thought he was going to choke, throw up, or possibly both, and started to weakly slap the man’s sides. Slade just held him still, though. “Struggle and you don’t get to breathe,” he was told.

Screaming on the inside, blackness rolling in, the teen stopped struggling and stayed still. A few more agonizing seconds and the man let him up, just long enough to gasp in a breath. Then the length was back, choking him, hurting him, and the man set a rhythm, a quick pace, while Robin just focused on staying alive. Slade didn’t ease up until he came. Robin knew why the man pulled back so just the head was in the teen’s mouth as he climaxed; the man liked to watch him swallow. His throat was convulsing, and he didn’t have a choice, but if looks could kill… Slade smirked at his glare.

“There, there, Robin. Just a little extra breakfast. Nothing to be upset about, now, is it?”

“Was that really necessary?” the teen grunted, his voice hoarse, as he got out of bed, wiping his eyes and mouth. His whole face was wet.

“Necessary?” Slade chuckled as he got up as well. “Of course not. But I enjoyed it.”

“Fucking…” the teen growled.

“Careful, bitch,” the man warned him. “Don’t let your pissy mood get you in any trouble.”

The teen had reached the sink and, instead of answering, washed his face thoroughly. When he was done and turned around, Slade was standing right behind him with a hard look on his face. The man was clearly not impressed.

Robin clenched his teeth. “Sorry, Daddy,” he said, stiffly.

“Alright. For _now_ ,” the man nodded and stepped away to get dressed.

Robin followed suit, quietly. He wasn’t stupid enough to push it, so he kept his head down until they had sat down with breakfast. He had gotten used to the bland food and just ate now. There was no use in complaining or wishing for something else. It was food and would help him survive another day, hopefully.

Slade reached into the cup of meds, which surprised the teen, as the man didn’t normally touch them. What he saw next made him stop breathing, however. The pills were two normal pills, one while and one yellow, and one capsule with white grain meds inside. Well, Robin’s capsule had that. The teen saw Slade break his open between his fingers and pull out a strip of paper.

“Keep eating, boy. Don’t draw attention to us,” the man said so quietly that Robin could barely hear, as the strip of paper disappeared somewhere up his sleeve.

The teen tried, the food tasting of even less now, and his mind a warzone of emotions and thoughts.

They headed back to their cell before work as always, to brush their teeth and so on, and the teen could barely remember how to walk normally. It felt like he was going to explode. With Slade’s mood this morning, however, Robin dug deep for every ounce of patience and control he could find, even as they got inside their cell.

“The air around you is practically humming,” the mercenary smirked.

“What… what was that paper? What does it mean? What did it say!?”

“If you can’t control yourself better than that, I’d probably do better with keeping you in the dark,” the man snorted.

Robin literally threw himself on the man, grabbing the front of his scrubs. “Slade, please! Please! I’ll fucking _live_ with your cock down my throat, just _tell_ me!”

“Well, that’s a thought…” the man snorted.

“Are you in contact with someone? Are we going to escape?” the teen continued, ignoring the man’s words.

“There’s no ‘we’ here, kid. You won’t be of any help, you’re a liability. You’re staying here.”

Slade had struck him before, but the teen would have wished for a physical hit instead of those words. He almost staggered backwards.

“You… you can’t… you can’t do that! Not in this hell!”

“You’d prefer me to kill you before I leave?” the man offered.

Robin sank down on the bottom bunk, shaking his head numbly.

“You’re… you’re really…. Planning on escaping?”

“There are plans set in motion. It will take a while, though.”

“What- what if I tell on you?” the teen said.

“If I thought you were a danger to my plan, I’d make sure you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. All I have to do is leave you alone in the common room, and you’ll be in no shape to stop anything for a while. If ever.”

“You have to let me come with you! I can help! I’ll do whatever you tell me to!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

“So how many guards do you think you’ll be able to kill?”

Robin gaped, staring at the man, and then realized that, to Slade, in this situation, he might actually _be_ useless.

“I… I…” he stuttered.

Slade snorted. “Thought so.”

“But-”

“Kid, you put me in here. Do you think I’d forgive that so easily? You’ve only been in here for a few days and you’re already desperate to get out? Well, tell me when you’re desperate enough to kill. Actually, don’t tell me. Show me. One of the inmates, killed by your own hands, that will be your ticket out of here.”

“Did Deathstroke fuck you mute?”

“Huh?” Robin asked, looking up from the pair of trousers he was folding.

It was one of Zaid’s followers who was leering at him from behind his own pile of clothes.

“You’re zoned out. Could shank you easily, and you wouldn’t even notice. Poor little teen getting depressed?”

“I’m thinking. Something I understand that you don’t have a lot of experience with,” Robin snorted, getting a chuckle from their two other station-mates, who luckily belonged to those who had stood on Slade’s side.

“Zaid is gonna have real fun, breaking that attitude,” the first guy, Robin was pretty sure his name was Tank, growled.

“I’ll break his nasty venomous teeth first,” the teen snorted.

“Was that a challenge? Because I’m sure he’d accept.”

Robin had been pushed around enough today by Slade, and he wasn’t going to let some low life hangers-on do it as well. He was angry, an anger based in fear and therefor quite powerful, and he was going to take it out on someone.

“You know what? Fine! Tell your pet lizard that he’s on. He might have two dicks, but I doubt he has the balls to match.”

“I’m gonna love watching this,” Tank guffawed and ambled off, presumably to tell his boss.

Robin just flipped him off and when back to work, steaming. A few minutes later, Tank was back.

“In the cafeteria, at dinner. He says he likes to dine his dates before he fucks them.”

“Aw, how sweet. I hope he’ll like my foot up his ass,” Robin snorted.

They continued to work, as there was no other option, and the teen was deep in thought when pain suddenly exploded across the back of his head, and he stumbled forwards. He found his bearings, spun around ready to defend himself, and then froze. Slade was frowning down on him.

“What is this I hear about my bitch setting up play dates?”

“I’m fucking tired of waiting for lizard boy to grow some balls and try something again!” the teen spat. “I’m going to take him down a peg or two!”

“You are, are you?” Slade said silkily.

“I am!” Robin growled, missing the warning in the man’s voice. Suddenly his throat was grabbed, hard. Slade squeezed just enough for the teen to realize that he had gone too far.

“Who am I?” the man growled.

“S- Sl-” Robin started, but when the grip tightened, he understood what the man meant, “My- my Daddy!” he forced out.

“Exactly. And what had I planned to do to you tonight?”

Robin’s eyes widened. With the secret message, he had completely forgotten. “F-fuck me.”

“And that’s going to be annoying if you’re dead or severely injured. If you want to fight, you ask me first, understood?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good boy. There’s one hour to lunch.” Slade let him go and walked away.

Robin blinked. “What… what did he mean by that?” he asked himself aloud, feeling his neck.

“Daddies tend to punish their bitches at lunch,” one of his ‘co-workers’ said.

“I hope he lets us fuck you,” Tank leered.

Robin swallowed. He didn’t for a moment think it would be anything like that, Slade wanted him to himself in that regard, but he didn’t like that the man had an hour to plan something.

“Back to work!” one of the men barked. “We’re getting backed up here!”

The hour passed very quickly. Slade came up to his station as the buzzer sounded, with what looked like a few pairs of pants clutched in his hand. He then grabbed Robin by his neck and marched him to the cafeteria, to the great enjoyment of the other inmates, who were hooting and coming up with very inventive suggestions about what the punishment would be.

Robin didn’t fight it. He considered trying to explain or apologize, but he didn’t really think it would be worth the trouble. He thought Slade did this mainly for the sake of the others, and hoped it would be over quickly.

“Bend over the table,” Slade told him, pointing to the table they normally sat at.

Robin’s heart beat a little faster, as it was a very vulnerable position, but he reluctantly obeyed. Not fast enough for Slade, however, who grabbed him again and slammed the teen’s naked torso down the rest of the way. “Stay. Make yourself comfortable. You’ll be here a while.”

The metal was cold and made the teen hiss, before the icy bite faded. By then, Slade had secured one of his legs to the table with a pair of pants. Not only bent over but also tied down? The teen didn’t like that at all. He kept still, though. It was only a punishment. He’d survive. Slade wouldn’t kill him over something as trivial as this. Besides, he was only tied down with some trousers, he’d be able to get out of that if he needed to.

Slade worked quickly, and soon both Robin’s legs and arms were secured. The hero furtively tried his bonds to see how much it would take to free himself. Huh. They didn’t have any give. He pulled a bit harder. And a little harder still.

“I wouldn’t bother, you won’t get free,” Slade chuckled. “Actually, if you manage to get free by the time I’ve gotten my lunch, I’ll stop the punishment,” the man promised. “In the meanwhile…” The teen gasped as his trousers were suddenly ripped off, along with his underwear. The hoots in the room rose to a roar.

“Listen up!” Slade told them all. “My bitch has been misbehaving. He deserves a spanking, but I can’t be bothered to do it myself. I’m sure he has pissed some of you off as well. One slap per person. Open hand. I want it in fuckable condition afterwards, so don’t damage my property too badly. You have until I’ve finished eating. Understood?”

There was another roar of agreement.

“Then, interested parties, line up. I’m getting some food,” the mercenary said, sounding almost bored.

Robin had already started struggling with his bonds, using every trick in the book that he could think of, and he struggled even harder after the first slap landed on his naked cheeks.

“Next time he’ll let us fuck you,” the man, Robin wasn’t sure who it was, said.

Robin just cursed at him, but the words were interrupted by the next hit. How the actual hell could flimsy trousers be able to hold him down like this? He lifted his head and saw Slade ambling back with his tray, so he doubled his efforts, but to no avail. In the meanwhile, the strikes kept coming. Some were quick and stung, others felt like he had been headbutted by an angry goat, but the stinging ones were actually the worse, pain-wise.

“Didn’t feel like getting up, Robin? Oh, well,” Slade taunted him as he set the tray down. The man then sat down and started eating, like nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

Someone guffawed behind him. “The little hero is gonna get spanked!” Mammoth said. Robin had trouble turning his head enough to glare at him.

“And here I thought we were friends,” he said to him in a very fake hurt voice. “Ugh! Apparently not…” he added in a quiet grunt as he willed himself to absorb the pain, pressing his forehead against the cold table surface.

“No hard feelings, but I just gotta,” someone else laughed, and gave him a slap and a bit of a grope.

Most people said something, usually sexual, before they slapped him, but the teen stopped responding after the first ten or so. He reacted, however, as Zaid came up to the table from the side and, naturally, placed himself first in line.

“Just a slap, huh?” the lizard said.

“How afraid of him are you?” Slade asked.

“Afraid?! Of this little bony whelp?” the alien spat. “Don’t insult me!”

“It’s just that if you hit him hard enough you could make sure he was properly crippled before your fight this afternoon,” Slade shrugged. “He’ll already be sore enough to be at a disadvantage, but, trust me, you don’t want to fight him, one on one, if he’s completely fine.”

“That wouldn’t matter! I would still sweep the floor with him!” Zaid barked out, getting some agreeing grunts from his followers.

“Oh? Well, then I guess you don’t want to fight him this afternoon, then?” Slade asked. “Fine. Let’s reschedule it. Tomorrow, unless he’s still sore?”

There was a slight hesitation as the lizard suddenly realized that he had been goaded into a trap. “Tomorrow,” he growled. “He’ll pay, and you won’t be far behind, Deathstroke!”

“Don’t go threatening me too, or you’ll be very busy tomorrow,” the man snorted. “I’ll let you know by lunch if my bitch is up for kicking your ass.”

Robin couldn’t help smirking to himself. It felt good having Slade in your corner. Then he realized that the man in his corner had tied him up naked for a public spanking. On the other hand, if he had been in the _opposite_ corner… well, that wouldn’t have been pretty.

Slade went back to eating, and he wasn’t really hurrying up either. Strike after strike landed on his ass and Robin was starting having trouble breathing through them all, and his eyes had begun to burn. Then, suddenly, it stopped.

“Um, mister Wilson?” a voice asked. “Um, so, we’ve all gone once, but some of us wants to go again…?”

It would be funny hearing a dangerous criminal asking for permission like a kid asking his mom to go on the carousel one more time, if it wasn’t for the pain.

“I don’t see why not,” Slade said. “I’m still eating, after all.”

“Daddy, please!” Robin pleaded, keeping his voice low. “Please, enough! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“That might be, but we can’t disappoint our friends,” Slade decided. “Go on,” he nodded to the others, and it all started over again. There wasn’t as many in line this time, most of the men wanted to make sure they got to eat in their brief lunch time, and had only slapped him for the entertainment. Those who stayed were truly getting off on it in some way or the other.

Finally, Slade put his utensils down.

“There. I’m going to put my tray back. The punishment ends when I’m back.”

The men took liberties as soon as the mercenary turned his back, by giving the hero multiple slaps and groping him even more. They didn’t dare do anything more, though, which the teen was very grateful for.

“Hope you had fun,” Slade said as he came back.

“Very,” Robin growled.

“I was talking to the men, bitch. And was that attitude I heard?” the mercenary asked.

“No, Daddy, sorry,” Robin hurriedly claimed.

“I thought so.” His arms and legs were untied, but Robin had some problems holding himself up, and stumbled, grabbing a hold of Slade.

“Aw, wanna cuddle?” the man teased him, as the teen was trying to get his legs to work. He had barely managed when the buzzer sounded and Slade started to half drag him out of the cafeteria.

“I assume I’m not going to get to eat?” Robin asked.

“You assume correctly. Hopefully you’ve relearned your place by dinner.”

“Yes, sir,” the teen said, accepting it. “Um… I… pants?” he gestured to the pairs that Slade had tied him up with and was now carrying back.

“I think you’ll pick fewer fights when you’re naked,” Slade told him.

“And if I don’t?” Robin snapped. “Daddy?” he added quickly.

“Then you might pick fewer fights with a broken arm.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” Robin sighed.

He was the laughingstock of the place for the whole afternoon, of course. He also got to hear very detailed descriptions from several people about what they wanted to do with him, but mostly they were just making fun of him. He hoped the nickname ‘baboon-butt’ wouldn’t stick, but yeah, his ass was very red. It was also quite tender, but it didn’t appear to be that bad, all things considered. No deeper tissue damage, it seemed. He considered himself lucky that his butt wasn’t flat and bony; he had needed the cushioning.

The time passed slowly. He was developing a headache from lack of food, and tried to drink more to compensate. When the end of the day finally came, he was tired, starving and quite down in the dumps.

“Clean up well in the shower,” Slade told him. “Remember that we have a romantic night planned,” he added with a smirk.

Robin gave him a pleading look, but the man ignored it. He did, however, give him a pair of underwear and pants after the shower.

“Thank you, Daddy,” the teen said softly, and meant it too. He had fully expected to be naked for dinner as well.

“Well, I heard a bit too many comments about your physique during the afternoon. Sooner or later one will snap and try something stupid.”

The teen gave the man a quick grin, thinking very quietly to himself that Slade was the one that was going to try something stupid later that night.

He put on his shirt, which he had left in the changing room before work that morning as he always did, and was again fully dressed. Some of the inmates let them both know that they were disappointed, but both the mercenary and the hero ignored them.

Slade decided to spend the time before dinner with reading the news, which he did a bit more carefully now since the TV privilege had been pulled. Robin was glad not to have to provide the entertainment quite yet, and was busy reading the Bible. He had decided to read the whole thing from beginning to end, and desperately wished for a pen and notepad to jut down comments about weird things and inconsistences.

“Holy shit, they are gonna get their dad drunk to get him to fuck them?” he muttered after a while.

“Seems like a good idea, you should do that too,” Slade chuckled quietly. “Lot, huh? Not much went right for that moron.”

“You’ve read it too?”

“Of course. It was a boring first day here.”

“You read the whole bible in a day?” Robin gaped.

“Of course not,” Slade snorted. “I had to beat a few people up before dinner, but then it got a bit dull.”

Robin snorted, and shifted his weight. “Ow…” he muttered.

“How bad is it?” Slade asked and now looked up at him too, giving the teen his full attention.

Robin considered lying in the hopes that Slade would let him be that night, but as he doubted that the man would buy it, he shrugged.

“It’s just a bit sore, sir. Not too bad.”

Slade met his eyes and held his gaze for a few seconds. “Good,” he then said and continued reading.

After a moment the man hummed and the teen looked up, leaning over to try to read what had caught the mercenary’s attention.

“Virus outbreak in China?” Robin asked.

“Substantial. Not good. But not really our problem,” Slade shrugged.

“Guess not,” the teen sighed. “I hope they are able to contain it.”

The man made a noncommittal sound and continued scrolling.

Robin was absolutely famished at dinner, and gulped down his food. Slade chuckled at him and handed him his slice of bread, which Robin happily accepted. He didn’t know why the man was being nice to him, but he didn’t care. Extra food was more important than any plan the mercenary might have to groom him. 

Once they were done, Slade headed back to their cell and the teen dragged his feet as much as he dared, which was barely noticeable. He started getting nervous. He told himself that it would be over soon enough and couldn’t possibly hurt as much as it had done the first time, but that wasn’t exactly calming enough. Slade waited for him, holding the cell door open with a smirk. Once it closed, the teen remained standing just inside, while Slade did what he normally did, which was kick his shoes off, check if the TV worked and look around the place for any signs of visitors or deliveries. After that, he stretched out on the bottom bunk, and noticed Robin.

“What are you standing all the way over there for? Come here.”

The teen took a hesitant step forwards when the man spoke again. “Actually… undress first,” he said and stood up himself. Robin thought for a moment that the man would come up and help him, but he pulled his own top over his head instead.

It shouldn’t feel embarrassing. It was completely illogical that it did, but that didn’t stop the redness blooming on his cheeks, as he started to undress.

“Aw, you’re blushing, that’s so cute,” the man chuckled.

“Cute enough to let me escape with you?” Robin asked cheekily, because he needed a way to fight back.

“You need to be _very_ fucking cute for _that_ ,” the man snorted. He had undressed fully and was leaning against the bed, watching the hero, seemingly completely unabashed about his nakedness.

Robin fought his instincts to cover up as new thoughts started spinning in his head. How cute? That was; what if he could make Slade… like him? Maybe like him enough so the man wouldn’t want to leave him behind? What would make that happen? Being really good in bed? Robin had trained in many different martial arts disciplines, but he now felt he lacked a class in sex. Besides, how could he be good at something he feared?

“Come here,” Slade repeated and was gesturing for him.

Robin swallowed. Okay. So… this was it.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of action in this chapter. I hate writing action. Dialogue is much more my thing. I hope it was ok, though! I DO like the chapter, it's just slower to write what people are DOING instead of saying... ;)


	5. New Sensations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thursday again! Well, for me. Thursday night after work. Working from home tomorrow so I can sleep in a bit… not bad. Sorry, you don’t care, you wanna read. Here you go. 😉 Here be smut, I’m afraid (?)

As Slade beckoned him closer, the young hero obeyed hesitantly. The mercenary didn’t appreciate the hesitation and, once Robin was close enough, reached out and pulled him to him. The teen let out a little distressed sound at suddenly having the man’s naked body pressed up against his own. His heart was beating so fast and loud that he was sure that the man could hear it.

“It is a rush, in a way, you being this afraid. Usually you mask any fear behind a cocky attitude, but I guess we stripped that away for now, didn’t we?” the man said, sounding very pleased.

Robin said nothing, proving the man right.

“I could comfort you. Telling you that it won’t be that bad this time. It’s just that…” the man started.

“… it’s not true?” Robin filled in, willing his voice not to tremble too much.

The man snorted. “No, it’s that you don’t trust me, so it wouldn’t have much effect.”

Robin snorted. “Trust you?”

“Yes. I want you to trust me. Trust me completely. Trust that when I promise you pain, you’ll be in pain and when I promise you pleasure…” the man ran his hands slowly down the teen’s sides and back. “You’ll enjoy yourself.”

“And… and this time, it’s… pleasure?” Robin asked.

“You might still be a bit too scared, but I won’t be rough with you,” the man said seriously, looking into the teen’s eyes. “Like I told you when you first arrived; sex is best with a willing partner. There are very few pleasures in this place, boy. You should be very grateful that I’m willing to bestow some on you, even if it’s for selfish reasons.” The man admitted the last part without sounding even a little ashamed.

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Robin mumbled. He had wanted to sound sarcastic, but he couldn’t quite get the emotion through, as he genuinely _was_ very grateful for any gentleness from the man. Suddenly there was a flash of pain across his face.

“You had forgotten to remove your mask,” the man said, dropping it to the ground. “Let’s start with something you know,” the man added, sounding amused, as if he could hear the hero’s inner struggle of gratitude and was enjoying it. He placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder and applied a little pressure. Robin, of course, instantly knew what the man wanted and sank to his knees.

Sucking the man off had become an several-times-a-day-occurrence, and Robin didn’t fear this at all, except when the man insisted on shoving the whole thing down his throat. This way the man’s cock was as far from his ass as it could be, so the teen didn’t mind, and the man usually let him do it at his own pace too. He knew it wouldn’t stop at this today, however, but he did his best, just in case he could get the man to come and call it a night.

“Such a good boy,” the man grunted, just as the tee’s jaw started to feel sore ,and caressed his hair. “I like the sight of you on your knees. But enough, we have more exciting things to do.” The man pulled him with him, onto the bed. “I’ll let you choose. On your back or on your hands and knees?”

Robin was surprised he got a say, even if it was a bit of a Hobson’s choice. Still, for some reason, being on his hands and knees didn’t appeal to him as much. The least the man could do, Robin decided, was face him.

“On… on my back.”

“Very well,” the man moved back a little. “Make yourself comfortable,” he smirked as he reached for the lube, placing it close at hand.

Robin just gave him a flat stare, which made the smirk widen. “Maybe not the best time to regain some attitude…” Slade reminded him. Robin looked away. “Spread your legs.” The teen compiled and the man settled between them. Slade leaned on one hand as he let the other run over the teen’s chest and abs, stroking him, like he was trying to calm down a nervous animal. He then leaned down and kissed the side of Robin’s neck, while tweaking a nipple teasingly. Slade hadn’t tried kissing him since the hero’s panic attack, where Robin had begged him not to, but it seemed the man wouldn’t be denied any longer. As their lips met, Robin closed his eyes and tried to pretend it was someone else. He didn’t understand why the man wanted to do this, as kissing, in Robin’s view, was something tender that showed love and affection, two feelings the man certainly didn’t have for him. It was confusing, but made his head swim, and he even, carefully, kissed back. Just a little, out of curiosity, just to try it.

“Ah!” Robin gasped as a slick finger suddenly pressed against his opening. Immediately, he tensed again.

“It’s just my fingers. You know them. You’ve taken them before.” Slade said in a surprisingly calming and patient voice. “Just push back on them when you feel ready,” he added and resumed kissing the teen.

Robin wanted to snort; he’d never feel ready for that! The man’s fingers kept circulating around his opening, though, almost tickling it, and then pushing against it gently in between, putting the sensitive nerve endings down there on fire. The man’s lips then abandoned his and moved on to tease his throat and chest instead. As they reached a nipple, Robin arched. The sensation between his legs had become almost unbearable, and he pressed against is as to scratch an itch. He moaned as the fingers, two at once, entered him, but the slight burning felt so good after the teasing, that he only wanted more. He reached for Slade, pulling at him, indicating wordlessly what he desired, and the man gave it to him.

Slade was also quiet. Possibly he didn’t want to risk breaking the young man’s trance and raise his defenses again. He merely continued to kiss the quivering skin, almost tasting the rabbit-quick pulse at the hero’s neck and clearly enjoying being the one to cause it.

Robin cried out as the man’s fingers curled, finding the spot inside him that was both pleasure and the almost painful feeling of too much sensation all at once. He welcomed the feeling of a third finger after that, riding on the waves the touch had started. Once the fingers were removed, though, he knew what to expect, and surfaced to worry once more. Slade had obviously hoped the teen would be too far gone to care, and snorted in irritation when he noticed that this wasn’t the case.

“Alright, let’s do it like this instead,” he said, and Robin’s world suddenly spun. When it stopped, he was draped on top of the man, who was on his back. “I’ll hold it steady. Move back onto it. Go at your own pace, I won’t move until you’re ready,” the man told him.

Robin knew it was a kindness of sorts, even though he couldn’t say no. He didn’t know what would happen if he did, but he had a feeling that Slade would simply flip them over again and fuck him. This option was… better. Maybe. He straddled the man, a bit awkwardly, and suddenly felt a strange rush as _he_ was on top. He had dreamed of winning over the man many times, looking down at a beaten Slade, and though this was not very similar, it was still as close as Robin thought he’d ever get. It gave him a little bit more courage, as he wriggled into position. Slade was true to his word and merely held his length steady while Robin pushed against it, just a little. He rotated his hip a bit, trying to find a better angle, and that teasing feeling awoke again. The head of the man’s cock was bigger than his fingers, of course, but it was also smoother, slicker and more pliable, and it didn’t take much for it to suddenly pop inside him. Robin gasped as almost the whole shaft suddenly slid into him, effortlessly, once the head was in.

“There you go, Robin. Good boy.” The words were spoken through gritted teeth, and hero raised his eyes questioningly to study the face of the man under him. What he found there amused him.

“Did you almost… come?” he dared to ask. “Daddy?” he tacked on for safety. The man met his gaze and smirked.

“Well, _I_ could hold back, _you_ couldn’t.”

Robin looked down in surprise and saw a small puddle of white, dribbling from his own length onto the man’s stomach.

“I… didn’t notice,” he admitted.

“Break’s over. Start moving,” the man told him.

Robin bit his lower lip in concentration as he tried to do what the man wanted. In trying, however, he sat up, and then hit his head on the top bunk, quite hard.

“Ow,” he groaned. Slade chuckled at him. “You promised me it wouldn’t hurt,” the teen muttered, caressing the sore spot on his head.

“Maybe this position wasn’t quite suitable for this bed,” Slade agreed. “Well, as you seem to be doing fine,” he said, and then the teen yelped as he, once more, was flipped around on his back. Slade’s length was still inside him, but had been pulled out a bit, something the man now rectified with a thrust of his hips.

“Ughn…” the hero grunted, but it hadn’t really hurt. He was still worried about what might come, though, and he didn’t like Slade being on top of him, caging him in. He managed to keep any true panic back this time, and even tried to relax, thinking he might as well just lie there and wait for it to be over. Then Slade hosted his hips up, changing the angle, and suddenly his prostate came into play again. Robin cried out and closed his legs around the man, pulling him closer. Every thrust was now a new burst of sensation, and the teen started to meet the man’s movements to increase the speed and depth. He was faintly aware that he was playing into the man’s hands by doing this, but it simply felt too good not to. This was a fantasy come true. He had never pictured Slade as a loving, doting partner in his wet dreams, he didn’t need that kind of romantic connection to him to forget himself and just enjoy the ride.

Not even Robin’s body seemed to have taken note of the fact that he had already come, because it was quickly working towards a new climax, and this one the teen felt every bit of. He cried out his release, hugging Slade so close with his legs that he might have injured another partner, and he gasped again as the man grunted out his own release, making a second, much smaller, wave of pleasure, wash over the teen.

He hissed as the man withdrew a few moments later. Maybe things had been a bit too rough on him after all. He knew he should get up and clean off, but he didn’t have the energy at the moment. Neither, it seemed, had Slade, who had rolled off him at least half way, still with an arm draped over him in a show of ownership.

Neither said anything for a while. Robin was busy trying to remember how to breathe properly and Slade appeared to just enjoy the afterglow. The teen noted, with a glance up at the man, that he looked quite smug, and snorted.

Slade’s arm tightened a little bit around him, his hand gliding down the teen’s stomach and stopping right above his groin.

“Attitude again? This soon? And here I thought I’d done a good job,” Slade grunted.

“No, I just… You just looked so… pleased.” Robin settled for.

“You should see yourself,” the man chuckled, making the young man blush angrily. “So…” Slade continued. “What do you plan to do with Zaid?”

“Well, not _this_ ,” Robin snorted.

“I should hope not, the man grunted. “I don’t share sex toys. I mean, did you plan on killing him?”

“No! Just… I’m tired of waiting for another attack. I thought if I could fight him, one-on-one, I could knock him down a peg or two.”

“And then he’d leave you alone? Better yet, you’ll become best friends?”

“Well, no, I…”

“Two things could happen here, Robin,” Slade told him, again sounding like he was explaining things to a child. “Either his revenge after you beat him will put you in a worse situation, or his gang will decide that he’s not strong enough to lead them anymore, and kill him.”

“You didn’t consider that he could beat me?” Robin pointed out.

“Of course he won’t,” the man snorted, and then burst out laughing. “Oh, don’t look so damn happy, it’s almost makes me hate you less.”

Robin quickly schooled his face into a neutral expressing, not even being aware that he had looked happy. His mask had allowed him to hide everything from eyerolls to passion for years, ha needed to remember that, he guessed.

“He might still cheat. Have others join the fight or bite you when no one sees.”

“Only his teeth are venomous, right? Not his nails?”

“Only teeth as far as I know.”

“How does he fight?”

“He doesn’t. He relies on his teeth and his build, the long arms might be a problem, but I haven’t seen any technique when he’s met opponents.”

“You haven’t fought him?”

“Not yet. He has been very careful around me,” the man said and then shrugged. “So, I guess he’s not a complete idiot.”

Robin couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that. “Don’t be so nice, I’ll get jealous,” he joked, making the man snort in turn. Then he received a slap on his hip.

“Get up,” the man said and rolled off him completely. “We have some time before lockdown, I wouldn’t mind a proper shower.”

Robin picked up his mask first thing and put it on. He pressed hard to make it stick.

“The… the glue won’t hold much longer,” he said. “What will I do then, Slade? I… I don’t want anyone to know!”

“It’s not like any of them are likely to ever leave this place,” the man told him, “but if you insist on the mask, I am issued a form of adhesive to keep this thing on,” he said and tapped his eyepatch. “You can use that. There’s more than enough.”

“Thank you!” the teen felt himself beaming this time, and looked away, feeling a bit ashamed of himself. “Um, so… do you… normally wear a patch, sir?”

“I normally wear an old fashioned one, the kind with a rubber band.” Slade said. “They thought I’d strangle people with it, though, so they gave me this instead.”

“I’m surprised they gave you anything at all…?” Robin said curiously.

“The eye is missing. I pointed out that an empty eye socket should probably be covered up in some way, and they seemed to think a prosthetic eye would cause more problems. Apparently, I could throw it at people.”

That made the teen lose it completely and he laughed as he was getting dressed, imaging Slade going around throwing his eye at people who annoyed him. The man seemed amused as well and, for a second or two, Robin felt… he didn’t know. At peace? It was such a strange feeling in a place like this, and reality soon checked back in. He used the toilet before they left to wipe and check for blood. There was none. Slade was cleaning up in the sink, and then they headed out to the showers. They were alone there. The hero expected them to just wash up and go back, but Slade suddenly pulled him in for a kiss.

“Not… not here?” Robin asked.

“Are you denying me?” the man asked back, steel in his voice.

“No! No, Daddy, I’m just… if someone comes in…?”

The man snorted at his prudishness and pushed on his shoulders. “Suck me off.”

How the man could want to come again, so soon after they had had sex, was beyond Robin, and it worried him. It seemed to hint at that the man would want to have sex a lot, and the hero wasn’t sure he would be able to keep up with that.

After the man had come, and Robin was sure he had made himself come much quicker than he usually did, they finished up and went back to their cell.

“You’re still blushing,” Slade pointed out once they were inside.

“I just… I just don’t like to do those kinds of things in public!” Robin defended himself, peeling his mask off before he got reprimanded.

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with your likes and dislikes, only with what I want,” the man told him flatly.

“Yes, Daddy,” Robin sighed. “I just… I just thought you were the same? I mean… you said no to having me suck you off in front of the others before?”

“I refuse to be pressured into anything,” the man told him. “I want what I want when I want it. And you are to provide, without complaints. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Robin said darkly.

“Aw, poor little bird. Plucked from the sky and forced on your knees,” Slade smirked.

“You’re trying to rile me up, sir,” the teen growled.

“And it’s working.”

“If you want to beat me, just beat me,” Robin hissed.

“It’s more fun to fuck you. And I did. Time for bed, you need your rest if you’re going to fight tomorrow. How’s your ass, by the way?”

“M-my…?”

“From the spanking.”

“Oh. Well, just tender.” Robin was a bit taken aback by the man’s words, his hissy fit coming to a halt. That was probably for the best, he decided a bit later, under the covers, wearing only his underwear and with Slade pressed to his back. He pulled his end of the two blankets tighter around his front, preparing for the chill that would come. He hated this place. It made no sense to him. Criminals needed to be punished, yes, and some of them needed to be kept away from society, but by treating them like this, there was no hope for any kind of rehabilitation. What was the government thinking? Why not just kill these people off? If no one asked any questions about this place, then they wouldn’t wonder where the inmates went either. Even fucking Arkham tried treatments, for crying out loud! And it wasn’t as locked off as this place by far. Also, what was Mammoth doing here? Jump was a long way away, probably, and Robin had never pictured Mammoth as that dangerous, he was more of an easily manipulated four-year-old, prone to tantrums. He didn’t recognize anyone else, or had ever heard of them before. It didn’t make sense to him, and he also desperately wanted to find out what was written on that piece of paper Slade had received that morning. He hadn’t seen it since the man had made it disappear up his sleeve, and it was very likely that he had destroyed it or flushed it first chance he got, but if not… Robin fell asleep with his mind swirling, trying to come up with plans.

“Are you coming?” It was the next morning and Slade was asking him from the door, heading to breakfast.

“Um… Sir, I…”

“Out with it,” the mercenary said impatiently.

“I need the bathroom. Can I catch up?”

“It’s your funeral,” the man said and left.

As soon as the door closed, Robin started searching. If Slade had left the paper, or any other clues, in here, he hoped he’d find them. He didn’t dare stay back for more than a few minutes, though, so he quickly searched through both bunks, under the bed and around the toilet bowl and sink. Nothing. Well, it had been worth a shot. He sighed and hurried after the man.

He hoped to not run into anyone, but he wasn’t that lucky. Two of Zaid’s guys just turned the corner ahead of him, and noticed him.

“Oh, hey, Deathstroke’s bitch,” one of them said, apparently feeling that pointing out the obvious was important.

“Hey, look, the lizard’s pets,” Robin replied likewise.

“You little-” the other man growled and rushed him. He was sprawled on the floor a second later.

“What’s going on here?” an unfamiliar booming voice said from behind. The still conscious gang member paled.

“Shit,” he whispered, turned and ran.

Robin whipped around and looked up. And up. The man was a giant who could dwarf both Mammoth and Slade, easily standing heads and shoulders taller than them. His skin was dark grey, same as his eyes, he was bald, and everything about him reminded Robin of a mix between a tank and living rock, only with human skin. He was frowning down on him, and the teen rather understood why the other man had ran.

“Um. Hi?” Robin said. “I… haven’t seen you around before?”

The man looked at him like he couldn’t believe this tiny sliver of a person dared speak to him.

“Haven’t seen you either. Been in isolation for a month,” the man replied.

Oh, great. Being isolated probably brought out the best in people, the hero thought sarcastically.

“Um. Oh. So… well rested?” he asked.

One of the corners of the man’s mouth twitched.

“You’re brave. Or stupid. I think I recognize you from somewhere, aren’t you a hero?”

“Robin of the Teen Titans,” the teen admitted. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around, though?” he added, hoping the mountain of a man didn’t carry a personal grudge.

“You haven’t. I’ve only seen you on the news. I’m Ore.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the teen said politely, not offering his hand and staying out of what he perceived to be the man’s range. He saw that the man wore a collar, but could clearly see that whatever powers he had, he didn’t have to rely on them.

“It’s rare people are. Pleased to meet me, that is. You seem to be able to defend yourself, little hero, but I have to assume you have a Daddy? Who?”

“Deathstroke,” Robin said.

“Ah. Of course. I heard your team is the reason he’s here, so he’d have a personal interest in you, wouldn’t he?”

“A bit,” the teen grunted. “And I need to get back to him.”

“I’ll escort you,” the man rumbled, almost pleasantly. “After you,” he added.

Robin had only taken a few steps when he heard a horrible crack. He looked back and the man had casually stepped on the unconscious man’s arm.

“People should learn not to be in my way,” the big man explained with a smirk.

“I’ll be blamed for that,” the teen pointed out.

“Refer them to me,” the man offered.

The teen couldn’t help but give the man a grin.

Robin hurried his steps and when he entered the cafeteria with Ore in tow, the whole place fell silent. He walked over to Slade, the gray man still following, and the mercenary did something unexpected. He stood up.

“Back, I see?” Slade asked.

“Yes. Helped your bitch to get here safely,” the other man rumbled.

“I appreciate that,” Slade nodded. “Get your food, Robin, you haven’t got long to eat.”

When the teen came back with his tray, the gray man had ambled off to another table, were people now flocked.

“You know him? He had been in isolation for a month, I wasn’t sure you had met?” Robin said. “Daddy?” he added.

“He was here my first few days here.”

“Um… it’s... not your fault, is it? The isolation?” the teen wanted to know.

“No. No one seemed to know what happened, he was just gone. He’s dangerous, though. I only know him by reputation, but if he’s curious about what sound your neck makes when it snaps, he’ll find out,” he said and finished his meal by drinking the juice.

“Nah, he seemed like a nice guy to me,” Robin grinned, actually making the mercenary splutter into his drink. The teen then filled Slade in on what had happened in the hallway.

“Robin, stay away. He might decide he wants you, and,” Slade glanced over at the table the man was sitting at, “I’m honestly not sure it would be worth the risk to fight for you.”

That made the teen swallow. He’d rather be with the evil he _knew_ , than one he didn’t. And if the man was even a bit proportionally sized down there, he’d not survive the first fuck, he was _very_ sure of that. At the same time, there was something appealing about someone even Slade apparently had respect for. Not in a sexual way, but in a way of opportunity. If Slade truly abandoned him in there, he’d need allies. He just didn’t want to get _too_ familiar with them. 

“Geeze, thanks, Daddy,” he muttered.

“Just thought I’d warn you,” the mercenary chuckled.

“No messages today?” Robin mumbled very quietly.

“Wouldn’t tell you if there was,” Slade snorted. “And don’t look like a kicked puppy.”

“Am not!”

“If I had a mirror, I could have proven it,” the man snorted.

Suddenly a shadow fell over their table.

“Late today, bitch?” Zaid asked.

“Daddy’s so big it takes some time for my legs to start working after a fuck,” Robin answered straight-faced.

The lizard seemed stumped for a moment but then apparently decided to ignore whet the hero had just said.

“Ready to die this afternoon?”

“Daddy?” Robin asked, looking over at Slade.

“If my bitch is ready, he’s welcome to entertain us, it’s up to him,” Slade shrugged.

“I’m ready sir, thank you Daddy,” Robin grinned. “But no biting, Zaid. Actually, I want you to wear a muzzle.”

“Made of what?” the alien snorted.

“We have loads of underwear and socks in there, I’m sure you can figure something out… or do you think you need to bite me again to win?”

“I’ll tear you apart, that’s what I’ll do!” the lizard growled.

“You’ll try,” Robin smiled pleasantly back.

The buzzer then went off to signal that breakfast was over, and Slade and Robin returned to their cell for a while before work. As they were leaving the cafeteria Robin, felt eyes on him and looked around. He spotted Ore watching him thoughtfully, and, as a reflex, the teen raised his hand in greeting. The huge man looked perplexed but then nodded back, with that half smile back on his face. The teen blushed a bit because of the awkwardness of the social situation, and hurried his steps.

“You’re quite cocky,” Slade pointed out to him as they walked. Robin tensed, looking up at the man to try to judge if he was being reprimanded or not, but the man didn’t appear annoyed.

“I’m not a doormat!” Robin snorted.

Slade stopped, half turned and looked down on him.

“Daddy!” the teen added very quickly, realizing the tone of voice he had used.

“Don’t make me punish you again before the fight,” the man grunted.

“Sorry, Daddy. Would you like me to be more of a doormat? With them, I mean?”

The mercenary didn’t answer for a few steps.

“No. Be as disrespectful as you want with them as long as it doesn’t reflect badly on me.”

“How will I know, though, sir?” the teen asked.

“If I hit you, you’ve gone too far.”

“Ah. Thank you. Great. Ow!”

“Like that,” the man said with a smirk and lowered his hand, after cuffing the teen’s head.

Robin thought it best to keep his mouth shut for a while after that.

Teen’s curiosity soon overpowered his sensible decision to stay silent once they were back in the cell.

“Who is this Ore-guy anyway? I haven’t heard of him?”

“I’d be surprised if you had. He started back in the eighties and has been off the radar for at least ten or fifteen years. Not sure if he spent them here.”

“Ouch. He has powers? What did he do, sir?”

“He can manipulate metal in different ways. There was supposed to have been some kind of accident in a mine and he absorbed something… that’s what’s making his skin gray. This is all hearsay, though, I have to admit. I have never run across him myself before now.”

“Do you know what he was sentenced for?” Robin asked.

“I believe he took on mercenary work for anyone who paid, and ended up on the wrong side at the wrong time,” Slade shrugged. “Not sure that’s true, though.”

“Is he dangerous? I mean, to be around? They guy in the hallway ran, but Ore seemed pretty… I don’t know… not hostile?”

“Tell that to the guy with the broken arm,” Slade smirked. “I told you already; stay away. He has a very low tolerance when it comes to things he deems disrespectful.”

“Who does that remind me of?” Robin snorted. “I didn’t say that!” he then added, really quickly, staring up into Slade’s flat gaze.

“You didn’t, did you?” the man drawled.

“Nope!” Robin insisted.

“You deserve to be punished, but I want you to win that fight tonight, so I’ll let it slide for now… In the meanwhile, we still have some time before work, could you think of anything you could do to improve my mood?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Robin sighed and sank to his knees.

“You’re a hard worker.”

The praise came from Ore, who had ended up on Robin’s work team for the first stretch of the day.

“I don’t want to seem lazy,” the hero shrugged. “Or weak.” He had been very careful around the man, courteous, but also friendly when the opportunity arose. The other two members of the team were very jittery, a little pale, and stayed as far away from the huge man as possible. The teen was aware that there was a balance here; he didn’t want the gray skinned man to get the wrong impression or take a physical interest in him, but the man also fascinated him to some degree. He had thought Slade was ‘the big bad’ around here, but the way the other inmates acted around Ore was almost ridiculous. Sure, he had stepped on that man’s arm, which was a little… psychotic, but other than that he hadn’t hurt a fly, as far as Robin had seen.

“You _are_ weak, though,” the man pointed out. “You’re the smallest guy in here.”

“Weak compared to you, naturally,” Robin nodded, “but I can take down 96 percent of the guys in here. I don’t think that’s weak.”

“So, which two people can’t you beat?”

Robin blinked, feeling a bit impressed. He hadn’t expected the man to be good at math. He knew it was dangerous to underestimate people, and he had definitely expected brawn over brains here.

“You, of course, and Sla- Daddy.”

The man hummed, looking a bit amused. Robin lifted yet another heavy load of wet laundry from a machine and put it in a now full wheeled cart.

“I don’t know if you are overconfident or right. Zaid has thick skin. Literally. A punch that would take a human down might not even hurt him. The fight this evening will be interesting,” Ore hummed.

“Sorry, but I intend to make it as short as I can,” Robin sniffed and pushed the cart away to the drying area. He heard the large man chuckle behind him.

“Still alive?” Slade was at the station Robin pushed the cart to.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Daddy,” the teen muttered.

“Attitude again?”

“No. Sorry,” Robin said. “Just… tired. It’s… difficult around Ore, I’m… not sure if he’s gonna hurt me, or if he likes me…I think he just tried to give me advice on how to fight Zaid…” His voice trailed off, and he braced himself for the apology not to be accepted.

“Come here.”

Robin handed off the cart to one of Slade’s teammates and obeyed. He gasped as Slade grabbed him and sat him down on a low counter, so they were almost eye to eye.

“S-Sir?” Robin asked with wide eyes, and was about to apologize again when Slade grabbed his neck and pulled him in for a none-too-gentle kiss. The teen forgot to breathe and was gasping by the time the man let him go. Slade wasn’t finished, however, and no attacked his neck. The teen had to bite back moans as his much too sensitive neck was being assaulted like that, and his arms, as moved by someone else, went around the man’s neck.

“Hey Wilson, are you gonna fuck your bitch or are you gonna work?” one of his teammates asked, in an obviously joking matter. Slade lifted his head and must have given him quite a glare as Robin saw the jolly expression melt off his face.

“Are you gonna ask stupid questions,” Slade answered. “Or are you gonna live?”

The man raised his hands in a calming gesture and quickly returned to work.

Slade seemed done, however, looked Robin over and then lifted him off the counter again.

“Off you go,” he said.

“But… but… I… what…?” the teen babbled, utterly confused and, against his will, a bit turned on.

“Go back to work, Robin,” the man said, looking quite pleased with himself.

The teen grabbed his now empty cart, and, muttering very quietly to himself about being surrounded by complete and utter lunatics, returned to his station.

Once there, he started angrily emptying another load. He hated that the man could make him feel any type of pleasure. All he _should_ feel was disgust, or at least nothing at all, but that bastard…

His thoughts were disturbed by a deep, rumbling chuckle.

Robin looked up and Ore was now much closer than the teen would have liked, his gray eyes traveling over his face and body.

“Tell your daddy that I got his message.”

“I… um… what message?” Robin asked, but the huge man only laughed and returned to work.

“What message?” Robin asked again, turning to one of the others this time.

“Kid, you got a hickey the size of Texas on your neck, and you look kissed senseless. Let’s just say your daddy is telling certain others to stay away.”

“Huh,” the teen said. He had to wonder, though… would Ore accept that… or take it as a challenge?

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is this? A new character that doesn’t die in the same chapter he’s introduced? Am I trying something new? You must wonder… 😉


	6. New Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thursday, yay! I’m working hard to keep up now… I was chapters ahead, but then writing slowed down with work and such, so… yeah… but there WILL be a chapter update each Thursday until this story is done! Whenever that will be… I know, generally, how it will end, but not entirely sure how long it will be… if you enjoy the story and wouldn’t mind if it dragged out a bit, let me know… 😉

Robin ducked out of the way of a fist that came flying at his face. He had judged the alien’s reach pretty accurately, but it seemed the long arms stretched just a bit differently from humans. He focused on the lizard, learning what he could, trying to find the weak points. His opponent had agreed to wear a strip of clothing around his jaws as a ‘muzzle’ of sorts. It was more for show than anything else, but at least it made it clear to the crowd that biting was considered cheating or, more importantly; weak.

The other inmates had gathered around the walls of the cafeteria to watch. Everyone had eaten quickly and there was half an hour until they had to vacate. Unless the prison staff shut them down, there was plenty of time for the fight.

The tables couldn’t be moved out of the way, of course, but there was room enough between them not to feel crowded, and Robin had every intention of making the benches and tables work for him.

As he ducked, hero spun his body around, and let his heel fly at the lizard’s lower abdomen. He got in a decent hit, but the man merely grunted. He remembered the advice he had gotten from Ore, about thick skin, and it seemed to be true. Not good. And considering the guy was an alien, the teen had no idea where any sensitive nerves might be hiding. He considered his options as he ducked and countered. Areas not padded by muscle should be more sensitive, he decided. The head, in particular. Maybe knees and other joints. The idea of getting his hands or feet close to those teeth was not appealing to him, though, but maybe his best bet.

He was fighting barefoot, as the prison slip on-type of shoes were basically useless to even walk in, but he noticed Zaid still had his shoes on. Not much of a kicker, then, Robin concluded, and other things spoke of that too. It didn’t seem the lizard had had any formal fighting training, at least not on earth. But he had strength, a certain amount of agility, speed and long arms, and that went a long way. Robin stumbled backwards as the alien proved just how long, by hitting the teen’s shoulder, temporarily numbing his left arm. The lizard smirked and quickly followed up with more jabs that the teen shouldn’t be able to block very well now, but Robin simply flipped away and used his feet instead, placing a good kick under the alien’s outstretched arm, hitting the ribs there. His opponent grunted and pulled back. The young hero took note, and from then on kicked and hit the man in the ribs as often and as hard as he could manage.

Fifteen minutes later he had to conclude that it wasn’t enough, however. The lizard wasn’t tiering, but Robin himself could feel the first signs of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever. Sooner or later he’d be too tired, too slow, and then the alien would finish him. The fight would have been over a long time ago if his opponent had been human, hell, the opponent might very well have been dead, considering the force Robin had found necessary to use. Zaid’s skin really worked as protective padding, not much seemed to even make him react, while Robin had a few deep bruises by now, despite having been able to avoid the worst of it. The teen was getting desperate, and he knew that was very dangerous.

“Getting tired, sweetie?” the man smirked. “You’ll get to lie down forever, soon enough.”

“You’re so caring. Should have been a nurse,” Robin huffed. He had just spotted something on the side of the man’s skull. Strange looking scales surrounding something that looked like an opening. Was that the alien’s ears? The scales looked… softer, in a way, and the place was safer to hit than the snout, but it was also well protected by the long arms. Robin was familiar with the concept of sacrificing pieces in chess to get in a perfect position for an attack, but the pieces he had at hand were his own limbs. If this went wrong, it would be over.

He pretended to stumble slightly, making himself look more tired than he was, and then attack with a punch to the man’s left that was way too slow. Zaid grabbed his wrist and smiled triumphantly as a murmur of hisses and gasps travelled through the audience. He had won. There was just the question of finishing the teen off, and he, as Robin had hoped, would take a moment to enjoy this.

“Aw, poor little-”

Robin swung forwards, practically hanging from the man’s arm, and gave himself extra momentum as he swung up and around, twisting his body and finally crashing his heel into that strange looking area of the man’s head, as hard as he possibly could. He hadn’t dared to hold back in fear of killing the man, because he knew that if this didn’t work, he was in for a very painful death.

“AARGH!” the man cried out and clutched his head, dropping Robin in the process. The teen landed easily on his feet and quickly followed up with more strikes to the man’s head, nose, forehead, throat, until he crumpled to the ground.

A roar rose from the crowd.

“Finish him!” someone yelled, and a chorus soon took up the demand for the man’s life.

Robin refused to murder someone in cold blood, however, and looked over at Slade. The man’s gaze was hard and the man raised an eyebrow as if he wanted to tell him that now was his chance. The teen knew it, knew that it might be his way out of here, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it, and simply slunk back to Slade’s side as the audience booed.

“Good fight, disappointing ending,” Slade told him.

“Sorry, Daddy,” Robin mumbled, looking down. He felt more ashamed for _not_ killing someone than he had ever imagined, there was just something in the man’s voice that almost made him want to turn around and finish the job, just so he wouldn’t hear that tone anymore.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. It wasn’t Slade’s. “Good fight, hero. Stop calling for blood, you savages,” Ore ordered the room, which almost immediately quieted. “Robin here won. He showed he has the potential to be lethal, but you should be grateful he hasn’t forgotten his morals, or all of you would be in danger.” Ore was chuckling and then petted the teen on the head like he had found a cute puppy that tried to act tough. “Thank you for the show, little hero.”

Robin looked up at the huge man and gave him a small smile and a nod. He then glanced over at Slade and realized that the man might claim that he hated him, but if he ever glared at Robin the way he was glaring at Ore, the teen might just fall down dead from fright. The Slade he had interacted with so far was a Mr. Rodgers-wannabe in comparison. The mercenary drew him in close and the teen knew better than to object.

The buzzer sounded, and it was time to leave the cafeteria.

“Come on, bitch,” Slade grunted, and Robin immediately followed. He looked back, however.

“Daddy? Zaid is still on the floor. No one is helping him out.”

“Let me guess, you’re going to go back there and do it?” Slade drawled.

Robin hesitated and then looked up at the man. “You know what, Sir? I don’t think I’m _that_ much of a hero today.”

Slade chuckled as he continued on and Robin felt a little bit forgiven for not being a bloodthirsty killer. He glanced back one more time, however, knowing that the alien’s fate was uncertain if he was left behind after lock down. He honestly couldn’t muster any pity for him, though. He couldn’t even see an upside to saving him. The man wouldn’t change, he wouldn’t feel any gratitude, he’d just be humiliated and even more dangerous. Hero protocol told Robin that he should run back, but that way of thinking didn’t do him any favors in here. It didn’t fit. It could get him killed. He had to make up his own set of rules, for now.

Robin didn’t know if he wanted to go back to his cell, with more privacy but the threatening presence of a Slade in an unknown mood, or if he wanted to be in the common room, surrounded by people who might want to cheer him on or get revenge. It was, of course, not up to him either way, and he soon found himself in the common room, sitting across Slade’s lap. To placate the man, Robin had snuggled up to him. With Ore getting too close to him for Slade’s liking, this was no time to act independent.

“That was some fight, man,” someone told Slade. Robin had noted they were all talking to Slade, not him, but hey, no one spoke to the dog after a dog fight either, he assumed; they congratulated the owner.

“He’s good,” Slade agreed, and Robin felt that unwelcome happy flutter in his stomach again.

“Not smart enough to kill the lizard, though,” the man added, and the flutter died.

Robin snorted, but very softly so the man wouldn’t hear. The arm around him tightened temporarily, however, so of course the man had heard him.

“Well, he’s just a bitch and a hero, right?” the man chuckled.

“I might be his bitch,” Robin said, indicating Slade, “but that doesn’t mean I’m anyone else’s. You should have learned by now that if any of you losers touch me, you’re going to pay.”

“He’ll auction you off when he’s tired of you,” the man, still way too cocky for the teen’s liking, sneered.

“And whoever buys me bought himself a shitload of pain,” Robin snarled. “Daddy saved my life, I am his, but I’m not like those broken doormat bitches you have in here, sweetie. Daddy wants me to prove myself to him by killing someone. I’m still too much of a hero to bring myself to do it, but if you volunteer…?”

The man backed away a bit. “You- You’re gonna let him talk like that, Deathstroke?” he complained.

Robin held his breath.

“I don’t see why not. Some people keep lapdogs for pets, I’m man enough to handle something wilder,” the mercenary claimed.

“You’re the only real man in here, Daddy,” Robin almost purred, snuggling up against him again.

Slade chuckled. “That’s laying it on a bit thick, hmm?” he mouthed in Robin’s ear.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way…” Robin mouthed back innocently. The message was clear, though; I’m acting. I mean nothing of what I say, and I think you’re as much of a shithole as anyone else in here. The man chuckled.

Suddenly people gasped. Robin looked up, as more and more people turned. The teen turned around in Slade’s lap, and when he saw what they were looking at, he stopped breathing himself. Zaid had just walked into the common room.

The lizard walked stiffly and strangely, like he had a limp. It seemed like he took a small step to the side, every now and then. His head was tilted oddly to the side as well.

“Looks like you might have hurt the balance organs in his ears somehow,” Slade commented quietly. “Well, at least now he shouldn’t be a probl-”

At that moment the alien spotted Robin. Something behind those now bloodshot eyes appeared to snap and, with a roar, the lizard charged.

Robin flew up from Slade’s lap, of course, but he half expected the man to step in and take care of the situation.

“Have fun,” was all Slade said, however, and remained seated.

Robin cursed and jumped away, trying desperately to get some distance between himself and the venomous teeth, that were now glinting at him as the man snapped his jaws. This room was smaller and more crowded than the cafeteria, and the teen soon found himself cornered. He tried a feint to get away, but was grabbed and slammed into the wall. The lizard held him with a hand on his chest and the teeth were getting closer quickly.

The only thing Robin had free was his hands, and, because of the alien’s long snout, he couldn’t reach the man’s eyes properly, an option that was very much on the table right now. _Anything_ was on the table right now. He had no choice but to grab the man’s upper and lower jaw, however, barely avoiding the teeth, to stop the alien from biting his face clean off.

Zaid was in an animalistic rage and that, in a way, was lucky. All he wanted to do was bite. If he had been more clear-headed, he could have done some real damage with his hands, as Robin had to use his and couldn’t protect the rest of his body, but he plainly wanted to taste blood.

The teen knew that he had seconds before he was overpowered. There was only one thing to do. He gathered all the strength he had, hoped to any deity that might exist and care that Slade would help him if this failed, and slammed down as hard as he could on the lizard’s lower jaw, forcing the mouth impossible wide. There was a sickening crack and the alien reared back in pan, clutching his mouth where his jaw was now hanging uselessly against his chest. Robin felt venomous spittle covering his face and hands, and there was a small nick in the palm of his hand. If he was unlucky, he had very little time left to fight, but now it had to be over, surely? No. The raging alien was charging again. Robin ducked out of his way just in time and, again, tried to keep his distance. He couldn’t let the lizard get close again, so he needed to find a way to fight from a distance. He’d happily use a gun right now, but as that wasn’t an option, he looked around for things to throw. There weren’t many loose things around, however, not light enough for him anyway, but then he spotted it on a table. The deck of cards.

He went for them. He knew how to throw cards so they did some damage, and he let the first one fly. It struck the side of the alien’s neck, but only bounced off. The skin was too tough. Robin swore loudly and desperately. He had to constantly move so he wouldn’t get trapped, and had very little time to aim. Eyes. He had to. The fourth card found its target and the alien howled in pain. Robin took advantage of the short lull in the attack and let another card fly. He had meant for it to slice at the alien’s tongue, as the hanging jaw exposed it, hoping that would finally be enough, but instead the card landed at the back of the man’s throat. The lizard drew a breath and the teen watched, almost in slow motion, as the card simply disappeared down the alien’s wide throat. Robin had already reached for his next card when the lizard clutched his throat and stopped. The alien seemed frozen, and then began to convulse. Still murderous, he reached for the teen, slashing with his claws now, but Robin was safely out of the way. Zaid just stood there, for over a minute, before moving again. A few, staggering steps later and the alien fell to his knees. Then on his stomach. Some minor convulsions followed, and then the man was still.

“Shiiiiit….” someone in the crowd said.

“We’d better leave, before-” Slade started, but suddenly people started yelling out and sinking to the floor around them. The ones without chock collars, including Slade and Robin, remained standing, and the teen rushed for the door, but it slammed shut before he had even taken three steps. There was a hiss from the walls and Robin yelped in pain as a dart, trailing a cord behind it, bit into the flesh in his back. Then there was even greater pain and after that, blackness.

Waking up was unpleasant, but probably better than the alternative. Robin discovered that he was back in their cell, or _a_ cell anyway, lying on the bottom bunk. His hair was damp and he could sense that he had clean scrubs on. Had he been bathed?

“Slade…?” he called out, his voice frail. No answer. He blearily looked around. No Slade. Not unless he was sleeping on the top bunk.

He was strangely weak. This wasn’t just from the shock. He had either been drugged or the venom had entered his system.

Suddenly the door opened, and Slade pushed through before it was really open enough to fit him, and called out.

“Robin?” As soon as the man spotted him, he stopped, and then calmly walked the rest of the way up to the bunk.

“You… carried me here?” the hero asked.

Slade sank down on the bedside next to him. He looked tousled and his one eye was somewhat bloodshot, like he had gone on a drinking binge for days. “No. I just woke up. You were gone. They must have gassed us after zapping us to keep us in check longer.”

“…Zaid…?” The teen’s voice was still gravelly, maybe he was the one that had gone on the binge.

“His body was gone when I woke up.”

“So… he’s… dead?” Robin asked.

“I’m sure he just took a nap,” Slade mocked.

Robin tried to decide what he was feeling. He then tried to decide how he should be feeling, as a hero and as a human being. Nothing seemed to click. He couldn’t identify the whirl of emotions right now, but he knew one thing.

“I… killed someone.”

“Rather spectacularly too.”

“That… means I’m coming with you.” Robin said this with all the stubbornness he could muster, which must have reflected in his features, because Slade chuckled. The mercenary looked down on him with something very close to pride in his eye.

“Yes. Yes, it does.”

They tried to piece together what had happened and why they had been drugged. Robin had definitely been at least hosed down and put into fresh clothes, which didn’t sit well with him at all.

“Who knows what else they did to me?” he growled.

“Are you in any… pain? Any other signs?” Slade asked, not sounding happy at all about the implied possibility.

“No,” Robin admitted and shook his head. “No, I don’t think there was anything like that, I just… I don’t like it.”

“Understandable. You were covered with his venom, though… it’s very possible they hosed you off to make sure you wouldn’t die from it.”

“So suddenly someone cares?” the teen asked sarcastically.

“Well… maybe they knew I’d care,” Slade smirked.

“And they would care that you’d care? Thank for that, by the way, Daddy, that’s very sweet of you,” the teen grinned teasingly.

“I’d be rather annoyed if I lost my fuck toy,” the man smirked. “And oh, not all of them would give a shit…” he added loftily, and then refused to say anything else.

Days passed. Suddenly Robin had been in hell for all of two weeks, and he was very much over it. Would not recommend. The other inmates were still talking about the fight, or fights, and they had all seemed to have forgiven him for them being zapped and drugged, just from the entertainment they had had in the time leading up to that. Zaid’s gang now had a new leader, Blade, who was in no way a nice man but seemed to have decided to stay the hell away from Slade and Robin. The teen enjoyed the new respect he now had. There were very few malicious comments flung his way, people didn’t seem to want to start anything, and he had even been invited to join the poker gang, after they had been allowed a new deck of cards. Robin had declined, staying close to Slade instead. The fact that the mercenary seemed to be in very good control of his lethal bitch clearly had more than a few people impressed, and that was what both Robin and Slade wanted. Respect meant peace and quiet, even though the teenthought the free days were a bit _too_ peaceful. Work was hard but it was something to _do_. He started notice that in Slade too.

“Not so hard, Daddy!” he pleaded in a pained grunt.

“I’ll go as hard as I want, and you’ll just have to take it,” Slade snorted. “Stop whining and brace yourself.”

Robin did. He dug his heels in and tried to be ready to keep the hanging punching bag still, when Slade started up the next round of punches.

“Ooof!” the teen grunted and actually lifted from the ground on the next impact.

“You’re useless,” the man sighed, but he wasn’t that angry, the teen heard, more amused.

“I’m sorry, Daddy, maybe you’d rather have Beef as your bitch?” Robin suggested, nodding towards one of the muscular bitches. Beef paled and drew back towards his daddy, a shorter, but equally muscular, gang leader.

“No, you get to keep your job, bitch,” Slade chuckled. “And speaking about jobs. Shower. Now. Boys, we request some privacy.”

Robin lathered the man up and let his hands wash him sensuously, while pressing his naked body against the man’s. He would have never imagined himself doing something like this two weeks ago, but if you had a daddy with Slade’s libido and wanted to be comfortable, you needed to learn how to spend as little time on your knees or on your back as possible. Not that Robin minded. He had, very reluctantly, come to very much enjoy the sex, even sucking Slade off, as long as the man didn’t force him to deepthroat him. There was no way in hell that Robin wanted to show or admit this, of course, but he suspected the man already knew. Still, the teen refused to initiate anything in any way. Not that he ever needed to, again thanks to the man’s teenage-like sex drive.

“You seem far away, am I boring you?” Slade asked sardonically.

“Huh? No, Daddy, sorry. I was just…” the teen blushed, something he just couldn’t stop doing when it came to sex, no matter how much he wanted to. 

“Aha,” the man smirked, clearly interpreting his red face correctly. “You’re forgiven. Now, should we continue?”

Robin understood the not-so-subtle hint and sank to his knees. Slade began washing his own hair, he was nothing if not efficient after all, and could combine business with pleasure. Robin chuckled when this reflection entered his mind and began his own chore.

“You don’t want anything bigger, hero?” a voice asked.

Robin yelped, despite having had to do this in front of an audience before. This was different, since it was Ore. A very naked Ore, grasping himself, more or less offering what he had to the teen. And did he ever have it. Robin’s eyes went wide.

“D- Daddy already has more than I can handle,” he answered the man, trying for flippant but landing more in ‘stunned’.

“I asked for privacy,” Slade growled at the bigger man.

“Can’t always have what you want,” the man shrugged, his eyes landing on Robin again, tellingly. “I was joking, of course. Just needed a shower before lock down,” he walked off, choosing a shower at the other end of the open room.

“Want to take this to the cell?” Slade asked him quietly.

“Wouldn’t that mean that he won?” Robin whispered back.

The mercenary grinned. “True. Go on.”

Robin did. He hadn’t suddenly become an exhibitionist by any means, but Ore’s interest scared him, and not only because of the size of the man’s junk. _Slade_ was his ticket out of here, he needed to stay with him and both of them needed to be… well, _alive_. He couldn’t let Ore get the impression that Slade was weak or, god forbid, that Robin _wanted_ to switch daddies, because that would only lead to a fight… unless Slade would do as he had threatened and just give him up. Robin didn’t really believe that, though. He knew Slade might not actually care for him, but the man was possessive to a fault, and also proud and confident. There was no way in hell he would back down from a fight. Slade might win too, that was very possible, size wasn’t everything as Robin had proved time after time, but it was stupid to take unnecessary risks.

“Mmff!” He hadn’t paid attention, and suddenly he got a salty surprise in his mouth and almost choked.

“Serves you right,” the provider of said surprise chuckled, as he pulled the teen to his feet. “Wash off. The news is on soon.”

Slade had gotten his TV privileges back the other day, and they were both following the news closely. The virus, Corona, was now spreading across China and to other countries as well. Not many seemed that worried, though, and it was reported on as if it was someone else’s problem. Slade was, if not worried for their sake, at least keenly interested in the events, however. Robin was too, although he didn’t quite understand why the man cared. How could a flu of some sort in Asia possibly have that much of an effect on them?

Robin washed his hair and body in a rush, and they were soon walking back to their cell wearing only towels.

“Good act in there. Although a bit distracted,” Slade praised him.

“Sorry, Daddy,” Robin apologized. “I was just busy thinking about Ore, and-”

“His cock?”

“No! Eww, no! That thing doesn’t even look human!”

“Curious though, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Don’t get _too_ curious, now.”

“No. I’d like to live,” Robin muttered.

“Yes, and that _would_ kill you. One way or the other,” the man grunted.

Robin just grinned up at the mercenary, though. Not saying a word but finding himself enjoying the possessiveness, in what would probably not be considered a healthy way if they had been in anything that could be called a relationship. As fucked up as things were, though, Robin didn’t care. It was a bit sweet.

The TV came on as soon as they had entered the cell, and neither of them bothered to dress in more than their underwear, as they would go to bed soon anyway.

They were on their sides in the bed, watching the TV, Robin being the small spoon as usual. He was only half watching, as he was busy reapplying glue to his mask. During a commercial break, and as Slade seemed to be in a good mood, Robin dared to ask an ever-burning question.

“Slade, please can’t you tell me about the plan?”

“Amazing. I think it’s been, what… twenty hours since you asked last?”

“But I will need to know!”

“You do not.” Slade answered in the same tone of voice as a parent answering their toddler’s ‘but, why?’-question for the hundredth time.

“But I can help!”

“No.”

“Practice?”

“Killing? Feel free.”

“So, you are sure the plan involves killing people?” the teen pushed, trying to ignore the knot in his stomach.

“Possibly.”

“You drive me crazy!” Robin growled.

“Glad to hear it. Now shut up.”

The teen heeded the warning and sighed, putting the lid back on the glue, putting it and his mask away safely on the floor under the bed and then lying back down, resting his head on Slade’s arm. He sighed once more, his eyes finding the TV again, when he suddenly was on high alert. Slade had tensed too, and was sitting up. The door had locked.

“That was early for lock-down, wasn’t it?” Robin said checking the digital watch over the TV.

“And no warning or message,” Slade added. Then he tilted his head to the side. “People are coming.”

Robin hurriedly reached for his mask and put it on. “What can that mean?” he asked, almost in a whisper.

“Who knows. Possibly a new inmate,” the man answered, still listening intently. “They are coming closer. Three men. Probably not an inmate, then. The warden likes to escort new inmates himself, as you noticed, and he rarely goes anywhere without at least two guards.”

Now even Robin could hear the steps, although faintly, and he swallowed as they stopped. They were right outside.

“Maybe they have realized it was all a mistake?” the whispered. “Maybe they are going to let me go?” 

Slade snorted, just as the hatch in the door was unlocked and opened.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I’m evil. Leave your hate in a review.


	7. New goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Time to find out what happened after that cliffie! Yay!

Robin had never felt so tense and hopeful all at once as when the hatch opened in that door.

“Wilson, approach.”

Slade grunted, but surprisingly did as he was ordered.

“Didn’t think you were a cock blocker as well, Warden,” he said sarcastically. “I knew you were a lot of things, but not that.”

“So, the kid’s still alive? Surprising,” the man outside drawled, although he must have known, Robin figured. Or maybe he cared so little that he didn’t? It almost seemed that way as the man continued. “That makes things more difficult. We need a private conversation with you.”

“We?” Slade looked passed the man and the teen saw his eyebrow quirk in surprise. “CIA, huh?”

“How did-?” a male voice outside ask.

“Easiest recognizable profession in the country. Which is funny, as you try so hard not to be,” the mercenary chuckled. “Well, what do you want? The kid won’t talk, I’ll make sure of that.”

There was a hushed conversation outside, and, judging by Slade’s smirk growing, he could hear every word. Robin couldn’t however, and decided to move closer. A gesture from the man stopped him, though, and he stayed put.

“Very well, if he causes trouble he’ll be dealt with,” the warden said coldly.

“Trouble? Robin? Never,” Slade claimed flippantly.

“You have a lot of attitude for an inmate, Wilson.”

“And you seem strangely convinced that you’re safe rom me, just because you’re on the other side of that door. We all have our faults,” Slade stated. “Now, what did you want? I’m getting bored.”

There was a shuffle outside as the people seemed to switch places, and the voice of the apparent CIA agent was heard again.

“What do you know about the situation in Wuhan?”

“What the news has said. Looks bad. Hope you guys are on it.”

“We… are,” the agent claimed and Robin almost burst out laughing at the uncertainty in his voice. Now, it could have come from being scolded by a prison inmate as well, but, to the teen, it sounded like the man wasn’t sure they were doing a good job at all. “We need someone extracted, and we need someone with special skills and inability to get sick to do it.”

“Pity I’m stuck in here, then,” Slade said dismissively, but there was a guarded tone to his voice.

Robin, on the other hand, had almost stopped breathing. Did this mean what he thought it did?

“We’re offering you a week, two weeks max, outside, and a shortened sentence.”

“How much shorter?”

“Two years.”

“Make it ten.”

“No deal. I’m authorized to offer three.”

“I’m authorized to offer one,” Slade said and flipped him off. Robin stifled a giggle. Slade was very amusing when he was annoyed at someone _else_. “Five.”

“Four.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Seven,” Slade said, arching a brow.

“For fuck’s sake, fine! Five!”

“I thought I said seven?” the mercenary asked innocently.

“Can we please just taze the shit out of him?” the CIA agent growled.

Slade guffawed and raised his hands. “Fine. Five. We both know it’s bullshit anyway. What’s the job, and how the hell do you think you’re going to stop me from escaping?”

“We need you to extract someone. A doctor. The name is Ai Fen. She is the head of emergency at Wuhan Central Hospital, and she knows things her government rather wouldn’t want her to know. We want her before they get their hands on her. We believe they are moving in.”

“Sounds uncomplicated enough… one of the world’s most paranoid governments, on their own turf, in a pandemic where people are locked inside. And I’m 6’5, I’ll stand out as a sore thumb.”

“Well, you are also disposable,” the agent said, sounding smug.

“Hope you are too, kid,” the mercenary growled. “Because I’m starting to dislike you a bit. Now, how are you idiots going to keep me on a leash?”

“You’ll be injected with microbeads filled with botulinum toxin. Enough to kill a thousand people. The microbeads are designed to disintegrate slowly and will start releasing the toxin in three weeks after they come in contact with your blood. We’ve done experiments that strongly suggest you wouldn’t survive that. Some of those tests were on your own blood. Once you are back here, you’ll get an antidote.”

“There is no antidote to the botulinum toxin,” Slade said coldly.

There was a moment’s silence. “There have been experiments with nitrophenyl psoralen to reduce the paralysis, we believe that will be enough, compared with your healing abilities.”

“There’s an awful lot that rests on what you believe. I’ve never been a man of faith myself,” Slade snorted. “And you’ve tested my blood? I had a feeling I was knocked out for a reason when I was brought in.”

“Well, we have to protect ourselves.”

“Funny, considering the virus hadn’t happened back then. Did you plan to use me for something else?” the man asked pointedly. He didn’t get a reply.

“Do we have a deal, Wilson?”

“No.”

“No?”

“All I’m getting out of it is the claim of a reduced sentence that will never happen. I’m not an idiot. I want permanent full benefits, none taken away for ‘misbehaving’ and more food. And that goes for both me and my bitch.”

“You also get one or two weeks out there, practically free, unlimited funds to spend on whatever food or hookers or blow you want, just as long as you do your job. Your ‘bitch’ can have some protection if he keeps his mouth shut about this.”

“I want him in solitary while I’m gone.”

“No can do, it would raise too many questions, but we can keep the door locked while he’s in here alone.”

“If he’s dead when I come back, I wouldn’t count on my cooperation again.”

“Noted.”

“When do we leave?” Slade asked.

“Be ready in one hour.”

“I’ll _try_ to pack all my things by then,” the mercenary drawled.

The hatch closed and the man didn’t move until long after Robin couldn’t hear the steps anymore. Then the man punched the wall.

“Dammit!” he growled.

“You’re angry about getting out?” Robin exclaimed. He had been listening to the whole thing with a slack jaw and rising fear and anger.

“It messes with the plan,” Slade told him. “Or possibly could, at least.”

“Oh, well, I would have known that, if you had _told_ me the plan!” the teen snarled.

“That’s enough from you,” the man replied.

“Yeah, have fun out there,” the teen muttered.

“You heard the man, it’s temporary.”

“The hell it is! Your body can beat that poison, can’t it? Or you’ll find some other solution! You’re never coming back here! You’re leaving me here! You promised-” The teen’s voice, which had rose to screaming, was cut off by a backhand to the face. Robin crawled back on the bed, cradled his cheek and fought back his tears. He was close to panicking again. The man had temporarily stopped it, but… “You’re… you’re leaving…” he said softly. “Please… please don’t go?”

Slade made a frustrated sound as he paced the room.

“I don’t want to. Trust me. But it would look too suspicious if I refused. They expect me to believe that I can escape and no one would turn that kind of opportunity away.”

“Maybe… maybe you could… you could send a message to someone when you’re out there? To Batman? Telling him where this place is?” Robin asked hopefully. He still hated the idea of Slade leaving, but maybe there was a silver lining.

“They will most likely drug me again before taking me out of here. You said that you thought you were brought here on a plane? I have asked around, and everyone brought here have been drugged out of their minds, no one has any idea if this place is even in America. We could be on Antarctica for all we know, and they are not likely to let me find out either.”

“But… just to tell him that we need help? There might be a way! A tracker! Something!” Robin pleaded.

“I won’t do anything that will risk my plan,” Slade said firmly, shaking his head. “Not if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure it would work.”

The teen deflated. “And… if you find a way to escape?”

“Then I will escape, of course. Don’t look so damn hurt, Robin, you would too.”

“Maybe they… they won’t give you the antidote,” the teen said.

“Maybe not. But I’m useful. And I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t the first time they have done something like this.”

“Ore! He was gone for a month!” Robin realized. “And no one knew why?”

“Yes. And there has been others going missing without reason. And, of course, your friend, Leeds? He told you he was being kept in here until he cooperated, didn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Robin nodded. “I didn’t think too much about what that meant… I kinda had enough on my plate then.”

“And speaking of enough on your plate…” Slade said.

“Am I dead, or what…?” Robin muttered.

“Possibly,” the man admitted with an exasperated growl. “At least they will lock the door, that gives you a bit of protection when you’re in here. And killing Zaid should offer more. But…”

“But Ore…” the hero groaned.

“Yes. He is hard to place. He might protect you, but he might also…”

“Yeah.”

“Hold him off for as long as you can. I won’t dawdle out there, so if they intend for me to survive this, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Unless you find a way to escape,” Robin said coldly.

“Well, yes,” the man shrugged, unapologetically.

“Great.” Robin hugged his knees, staring morosely out in front of him.

“You’re intelligent, resourceful and you can fight. Don’t bend over before you have to,” the man snorted.

Robin gave him a glare. “I very much wish Ore had a crush on _you_.”

“I hope you would have told me the same thing I just told you,” the man smirked. The corners of the teen’s mouth twitched a little.

“I’ll miss you,” he said, softly.

Slade arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, it will get cold,” the teen smirked.

“Aw. Poor hero. I’ll ask them to give you an extra blanket.”

Robin snorted, but secretly hoped that Slade actually would. It wasn’t like he would freeze to death, but it would definitely be chilly.

The wait seemed long. Slade turned his attention back to the TV, standing by it and flipping through the channels to try to find more information about the country that he would soon have to go to.

“How are you going to do this?” Robin asked.

“I assume they have something set up. If not, their time frame is very optimistic,” the man replied.

“I hope it’s gonna be easy…” the teen mumbled.

“Me too.”

“Eat a pizza for me out there, ok?” the teen then said, trying to joke, but the very thought of the food made him choke up a bit.

The man chuckled. “The things I do for you,” he joked.

“Yes. Great sacrifice,” the teen droned.

A while later Slade looked towards the door.

“They are coming.”

Robin stood up, feeling somewhat awkward about what to say or do.

“I… um… I… good luck, ok?”

The man chuckled and then surprised the teen by drawing him in for a kiss. The hero responded eagerly, willing the man to come back as soon as possible. Not that any amount of his kisses or his body would matter if the mercenary really could escape. He knew that, but it didn’t hurt to send the man off with a nice memory, did it? Then, perhaps, he’d do something for him if… “If… If you get away, I won’t blame you,” Robin said quickly. “But… but please let Batman know what you know in that case?”

“He won’t find you.”

“I just need to know that someone is looking.” Robin looked pleadingly up at the man. “Slade… please?”

“Alright,” the mercenary sighed. “But you’re an idiot if you get your hopes up.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty dumb,” the teen joked, making the man chuckle, just as the hatch opened.

“Wilson, to the door.”

“We’ll pick this up where we left of in a few days,” Slade promised the teen, and walked up to the door. He was instructed to push his arm through the hatch and Robin saw the tiniest of tightening of the man’s face. The teen couldn’t see, but he assumed it must have been the poison administered. The man was then given shackles to put on his feet and hands, of the same type that Robin had worn. The teen was surprised that he didn’t feel even a little bit of glee or satisfaction from seeing the man like this. Quite the opposite. Things had changed quickly in two weeks, and in another week? Who knew if either of them would even be alive.

“Robin, against the far wall, face the wall. Hands behind your head. Move and we’ll shoot,” he was instructed himself. He obeyed, giving the man one last pleading glance.

He heard the door open and close. He waited until he heard people moving away before he dared to glance backwards. The door was shut once more. He waited a little longer still before feeling it. Locked., as he suspected it would be. It was good that it was. He didn’t want unexpected visitors. He turned off the TV and went to bed. He had a long night of worrying ahead of him, so he’d better get to it. Tomorrow was going to be… fun.

He woke up, groggily, to the wakeup call, and rushed out of bed. It had taken a very long time to fall asleep and, even with two blankets and the sheet from the top bunk, it had been a cold night. He had missed Slade’s body desperately.

The cafeteria would be open by now, he knew, so he got dressed in a flash, grabbed his mask and went to the door. It was locked. He stared at it, surprised, having temporarily forgotten about the added security. Then it buzzed and he looked up at the nearest camera. Of course. If the door was going to be locked when he was in there, it had to be opened manually. It felt strange to realize that there actually _was_ a real, living, breathing person watching him right now. He raised his hand to the camera in a kind of awkward thank you, and left.

He hurried to the cafeteria and arrived before anyone else. He got his food, scooped everything off the tray and rushed back to his cell, which locked behind him. So far so good. He ate, went through the rest of his morning routine and then just waited.

Once the buzzer announced that it was time to leave for work, he waited as long as he dared, and when he turned the corner to the hallway where the laundry was, he quickly dashed in among the other people waiting. He found a spot and stood on tip toe, craning his head as he pretended to look around. Anyone seeing him would assume, Robin hoped, that he was looking for Slade.

Once inside they were all separated anyway, and as there were fifty of them – well, a few less now, Robin realized, with three dead and Slade on a mission – no one would spot Slade missing. If he kept this up, possibly skipped lunch, he might be able to keep this up for at least a day, he figured. It lasted about thirty minutes.

“So, where is your daddy, little hero?”

Robin swore inwardly when he heard Ore’s voice, but when he turned around, he tried to make his features look as neutral and innocent as he could.

“Oh, he’s around. We weren’t placed close by today, I guess,” he said with a shrug.

“He’s not, though. I’ve looked.”

That got the attention from a few others on Robin’s team, all of them quite nasty people.

The teen had to think fast, and he decided to try something that might be suicidal, but then again also might work. He was facing Ore, but had his back towards his work team, which meant that they didn’t see him placing a finger over his lips in a hushing gesture, or see the wink he gave the huge man in front of him.

“Maybe he’s in the bathroom?” Robin said. “By the way, Sir, may I speak to you at lunch? I have permission.”

“Of course.” Ore looked a bit perplexed but not displeased. The man then looked over the head of the group and said. “Oh. There’s your daddy, he must have been in the bathroom or something. Later, little hero.”

Robin almost looked, before he realized the man had covered for him. He gave the man a smile and a nod as he was leaving. So… now he needed to find something to bargain with that was _not_ his ass. He sighed and looked down at his work. Would the man want a fresh top? Size medium? Nope. He really hoped he wasn’t, literally and figuratively, screwed.

The hours up to lunch went slowly, but in a way, Robin didn’t mind, as he didn’t know if he’d even survive the meal. Well. Now he was being overdramatic, he decided. He didn’t think Ore would try anything during their short meal break, as they all wanted to eat, but what happened then might very well decide how the evening would go. Another reason that time was going slowly was his work team. As mentioned, they weren’t his favorite people and Robin had, by now, learned who were fun to work with, who were just ok, who were unpleasant and who were straight up creepy. The fun people you could joke and talk with. They weren’t likely to blow up, and even though the humor was more than a little crude at times, it was usually pretty ok when the team consisted mostly of those people. His current ‘buddies’ weren’t trying anything, but they were high strung, grumpy as hell, and not very talkative unless it was an insult or a slur. Fun times. Robin sighed as he heard, from all the way across the vast facility, almost completely drowned out by all the noise, a group singing as they worked. Work songs weren’t that uncommon, and Robin had learned a few raunchy tunes over the last two weeks. It was something to do, a way to bond in a way, that was also safe, as you couldn’t really say the wrong thing to someone if you were all singing. The teen had thought about this bonding a lot lately. What he had seen was very tragic. He had expected that these cold-hearted criminals wouldn’t really care about other people, and some might not, but there was a very real human need to form connections, find comfort, safety and even friendship in this hostile environment. Even Slade, Robin realized, played cards. ‘Other people’ was a basic human need for the family-group oriented Homo Sapiens, and people might claim to be islands, but when push came to shove, it seemed that most wanted to be at _least_ peninsulas.

This need wasn’t only positive, however. This was a bunch of very broken people, most who had been betrayed too many times and many, possibly, with function variants that meant that connecting to others was difficult. Most didn’t have the tools, skills or knowledge to do it, and an attempt might just as well end in battery, murder or rape, as in a conversation or a game. Robin found himself wanting to help as times, but Slade had an eerie sixth sense when it came to that and made sure to stop him every time. He was to let it all be, he had been told, with a cuff to his head to emphasize. Robin had considered that if he wanted to teach people how to communicate with others, he should start with Slade.

As he walked to lunch, he rather missed the man’s presence, however, and would have loved a cuff on the head if that meant that this was just another day, just another lunch. But no. He grabbed his tray, took a deep breath and gave himself a stern inner pep talk as he headed over to the table that Ore was already at. Many eyes followed him and whispers started up as they noticed where he was going and that Slade was nowhere in sight.

Ore had chosen to sit at a table off to the side, and the fact that all the tables around that one were empty, told Robin that the man had ‘asked’ for some privacy. He appreciated that. As he came up to the table, he didn’t keep his usual distance, but approached the man.

“May I sit here, sir?” he asked politely, indicating the seat opposite the man.

“Of course, little hero, did you think I would have you eat on the floor?”

The way the man said that, told Robin that that had most definitely been an option.

“Thank you, Sir,” the teen said and sat down.

“Not ‘Daddy’?” the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, Sir. I already have one,” Robin said as firmly as he possibly dared. Which wasn’t that firm, to be honest. Practically Tapioca pudding consistency.

“Who is… missing?”

“I think you know what has happened, Sir.” Robin said, eager to steer the conversations away from the literal daddy-issue. “You were ‘missing’ yourself for a month, right? In isolation? No one seemed to know why you would end up there, so I suspect you weren’t in isolation at all.”

“Really, now.”

“I’m sure you’re not allowed to talk about it, but Daddy said they don’t record audio, right? So why the secrecy?”

“If people find out that others have… taken deals, to, say, make their life here shorter or more tolerable… it might be seen as weak. People here are not government friendly, but as you have seen… yes, they are using us. Some of us at least. It’s not talked about.”

“Oh. I didn’t consider that…” Robin said thoughtfully. “Seems like the smart thing to do, though. I’d do anything to get out of here.”

“Anything, little hero?” the man chuckled.

“Make me an offer and we’ll see,” the teen shot back with a smirk.

“Wish I could,” the man grunted and shuffled some food in his mouth. Robin ate as well, quickly. He didn’t want to miss out on the bland calories if he didn’t have to.

“Daddy will be gone a week or two,” he then admitted. “Is that… going to be a problem?”

“Not for me,” Ore smirked.

“It was my _own_ ass I was worried about. Literally,” Robin admitted, deciding not to dance around the issue.

“I’ll be gentle.”

Fuck. This wasn’t going well. Robin could offer the man his hands and mouth, but he really, really didn’t want to do that. Slade was one thing, but others? No.

“I’m not gonna cheat on Slade,” he said, using the man’s name.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Listen-”

“I knew you had a history,” the man interrupted. “Are you saying you are…” he hesitated, seemingly searching for words. “… an item?”

Laughing in the man’s face was not a good survival tactic, so Robin tried very hard not to. Instead he ran with it.

“I… well… He…” he looked down on the table, like he was upset and tried to hide it. “Slade, he… he doesn’t like… love me, or anything, but… we always had something between us, and he saved my life, and he’s… he’s not so bad unless you step out of line, and…”

“Methinks you’re suffering from a bout of Stockholm syndrome,” Ore chuckled. “Or is it just a teenage crush?”

Robin blushed because, in some strange way, those words got to him.

“I… I’m not! I’m just… Ore, please? You’re the biggest guy in here, I know fighting you isn’t exactly smart… but _you_ are. Smart, that is. I don’t want to be your bitch, but I can be something even more valuable and rare, in here,” the teen continued, speaking fervently now. “I could be something you might need even more than a fuck. I could be your friend!”

The man looked at him as several seconds passed. Then he suddenly threw his head back and laughed. The man positively roared with laughter, as Robin felt his stomach sink into his knees. Having trouble talking, Ore gasped, between bouts of laughter.

“Is… this… some kind of… after school special?” he asked. He even had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. Robin said nothing, just started eating again, as the man did, still chuckling between bites. They finished almost at the same time, and Ore got on his feet first. Robin looked up at him, a bit fearfully, waiting for the man’s next move.

The man raised a hand and ruffled his hair. “You’re gutsy, little hero. I like you.” He turned to the room, who were all now staring in their direction. Robin and Ore had both kept their voices down, but no one could have missed the laughing. “Listen!” the huge gray man spoke up. “Deathstroke is in isolation for a few weeks. I don’t want anyone to cause the little hero any problems, he’s still claimed. And he’s, apparently,” the man looked down at the teen with a teasing smile, “my friend. So play nice.”

Robin wanted to hug the man, but settled for a beaming smile.

“Deathstroke is one damn lucky man,” Ore grunted. “If you feel an itch, come to me, little hero. We’ll play nicely, I promise.”

Robin blushed again and nodded; he didn’t dare do anything else.

“Oh, and one more thing…” Ore said.

“Yeah?”

“If Slade’s not back in one week… you’re mine.”

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Someone reviewed saying they liked Ore and hoped that wouldn’t change… I kinda feel the same way, but who knows… stories and especially characters do whatever they damn well please… 😉 (and sorry, I haven't been replying to the reviews again, I suck! But I love them and they make me smile in my fight to find time to write)


	8. New Deals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thursday again. Writing like the wind to keep ahead. Damn work getting in the way. Why do I need money? 😉

Robin stared up at Ore who had just giving him his ultimatum. One week.

“But… but they said it might take up to two weeks! It’s very likely it will! It’s a difficult mission!” he objected.

“That may be, but I don’t have all the patience in the world, little hero. Why would I deny myself _anything_ I want when I can have it? It makes very little sense in here, so the fact that I will wait even seven days…” The man’s voice trailed off, the meaning behind the words very clear.

“Ok, ok, thank you!” Robin hurriedly said. “And… it’s not you. Well… it’s one _part_ of you that worries me, but mainly it’s just… well… Slade and I…”

“I know, I know, it’s very romantic,” the man snorted. “And I can demonstrate on one of the other bitches how much the human ass can stretch with a bit of training. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Actually, now I have _two_ things to worry about,” the hero groaned. “That you will fuck me, _and_ that demonstration…”

That evening, after dinner, Robin was pouring over one of the tablets in the common room. He now had full access to everything, and even though it was a closed database of news, literature and games, it was the best thing ever. He wished he could have one of these tablets in his cell.

No one had as much as given him a nasty glare the whole rest of the day, and it was, of course, all thanks to Ore’s little speech. The man in question was sitting on the couch next to Robin’s, taking up the whole two-seater, man-spreading quite a bit.

“Anything interesting?” the man in question asked.

“Yeah, this corona-stuff… starting to look a bit scary now,” Robin answered.

“Not under control, huh?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. I didn’t know it was this big. The international news seems to take it more seriously than they do on national TV…”

“Well, it won’t affect us in here,” Ore said, having no idea how utterly wrong he was, as that was the reason Slade had left.

“Maybe not,” Robin shrugged. He hadn’t offered any info about the mission to the man, but Ore hadn’t asked.

“I’m horny,” the man suddenly said, adjusting himself.

“We’re friends, but please don’t overshare,” Robin dared joke, a grin on his face.

“Friends help each other out.”

“We’re not _that_ good friends,” the teen deadpanned.

The man chuckled. “Alright. Hey! Anyone wanna give me head?” he asked.

Two guys were immediately there and Ore pointed to one of them, who got on his knees and reached out for the man’s groin.

“What, _here_?!” Robin asked.

“Why not?”

“But I’m reading! And this thing is on a chain, I can’t exactly move!” Robin objected.

“Focus on your news then, little hero,” the man smirked, and then closed his eyes as the man in front of him got to work. “Mmm… not bad.”

Robin groaned and tried to turn away, as much as he could, to focus on his reading. Eventually he just gave up, however, the slurping and huffing getting to be too much. He grunted, stood up, put the tablet back and decided to work out instead.

The small gym already had some people in it, but there was still space.

“Hi, Robin, do you wanna press? I can spot you?”

The teen blinked at the friendly offer and then recognized the other guy who had offered to service Ore.

“Oh. Thanks, but no, I was just gonna do some fighting combos,” he said, trying to sound as polite as he could.

“Kay, man, no worries. Hey, if you need anything…? You know, like… some extra food… a blow job…?”

“I… thanks, I’ll… ask…” the teen stuttered, completely thrown off. As he worked the sand bag with his fists and feet he realized that he was probably very high ranking now. Maybe second in command, in a way, as he had Ore’s protection. Maybe he was safer than ever. Even when he was with Slade, there were people, like Zaid, who wanted to push their luck, but he very much doubted anyone would like to start things with the gray giant.

He worked out for about an hour, pouring all his fears and anger into the sand bag, letting it know how he felt about being trapped in here. He was aware that a few people were watching him, but he hoped they had imagination enough to see themselves in the bag’s place, in case they got in his way. He should have proved this with the fights he had been involved with already, but a reminder never hurt, he guessed.

After working out, he was able to have a quick shower in peace, and then he retired to his cell. Once he got there, he regretted it. It felt… lonely. As long as he was somewhat safe in the common room, he might as well be out there, maybe actually playing some cards or spending more time with a tablet, reading. That was also a way to show that he wasn’t afraid, wasn’t hiding… He almost went back again, but then checked the time and decided against it. He had slept poorly the night before, and he should try to fall asleep before it got cold, he decided. He still watched some TV first, and then curled up under the blankets. He buried his face in one of the pillows. It smelled like Slade. One day without the man. He had six left, and after that… well, he didn’t want to think about it.

Four days passed. Robin started to get nervous. He knew Slade thought it might be a difficult mission, and he didn’t expect him to be back within just a week. He knew he needed some sort of new deal with Ore, or possibly distract the man somehow, but didn’t know how. For now, Robin actually tried to befriend him, working from the assumption that he wouldn’t want to hurt him if he actually liked him. It was a somewhat shaky assumption, but he’d have to go with it.

There was something else, as well, something that had shaken him. That itch Ore had mentioned… he was starting to feel it. Badly. He had had several wet dreams the last few nights, and it was difficult not to touch himself. The cameras made him too self-conscious, though. It was one thing when it as Slade and him, then there were two of them, after all, and he could mentally blame it all on Slade, but alone? Even in the dark, under the covers…. Well, he assumed the cameras had night vision, of course, so the darkness didn’t really hide him. One thing was clear, however; his body had gotten used to sex, and it didn’t like being cut off.

He also had to deal with people slowly starting to test the boundaries again. No one did this when Ore was around, of course, but his ass had been fondled a few times, he was constantly being leered at, right now, propositions were being made.

“So me and Tank thought we’d ask to get to fuck you first, As a warm-up you know? We’ll take turns first, and then DP you. Two dicks in you should get you ready for Ore’s, we figured.”

Robin sighed and packed a carefully folded top into a box of tops of the same size.

“Ozone, I wouldn’t do so much thinking if I were you,” he told the man. “It could get you hurt.”

“Well, we’re just being bros. Helping you out, you know,” the man said, sincerity nowhere to be found in his voice.

“You’re very sweet. Your moms must be proud.”

“Hey, you don’t fucking talk about my mom!” It was Tank, exploding.

Robin pushed the box he had just finished with away “Do you wanna deepthroat a card like your little lizard friend, tough guy?” he growled, having had enough of all this.

It wasn’t a long fight and it wasn’t pretty. Robin knocked the man down easily, and went back to work while he was still groaning on the ground.

“What happened here?”

Robin smiled up at Ore. “Oh, I think Tank just dropped a contact, Sir,” he grinned and looked over at the man again. He was now on his hands and knees, looking up at them and paling.

“Maybe I should have him drop his pants later…” Ore pondered.

Tank was now positively ashen.

“Ewww, no, I wouldn’t want to get anywhere near that nasty ass,” Robin said, in a halfhearted attempt to save the man who had just attacked him.

“Well, you’re right… I’m waiting for a much finer one, after all,” Ore leered at him.

“Please, not you too? Could everyone stop looking at me like a piece of meat for just one second! I’m not that hot!” Robin snorted.

“I’d say you are, in general. And in here…? Practically a god,” the man told him with a smirk.

Robin chuckled. “Well, this god will smite people who threaten to do things with him that he doesn’t want to do.”

“Smite away all you like, I enjoy a bit of a fight in my bitches,” Ore said with a wink. The large man then walked back over to his station, and Tank and his buddy were back to work as well, keeping their heads down.

“Can’t wait to see you in pain in a few days, bitch,” Tank hissed at him.

“I understand. I enjoy seeing you in pain now, so I can’t really blame you,” Robin said flippantly and focused on the packing again.

Slade was stretched out on his back, staring up onto a nicotine stained ceiling where a fan was trying its best to create a cool breeze in the near tropical heat.

Next to him, a woman was asleep, snoring slightly. She was a hooker the hotel provided. He had picked the one that looked the most decent and felt no regrets. She was providing a service and he hadn’t been rough with her. The sounds of enjoyment she had let out were most likely fake, Slade wasn’t a fool, but he also didn’t much care about her pleasure in this transaction. He had needed to unload and he had done so. Using a condom of course. She had surprisingly fallen asleep and he hadn’t had the energy to kick her out yet. He glanced over at her and snorted. He would have honestly had more respect for her if she had tried to stab him and rob him, but who knew, maybe being a whore at this run down rat hole of a hotel was a good gig.

He sighed and let his thoughts drift again, and they, inevitably, drifted right back to Robin. He was wondering if the kid was alive. He had hopes he was, Robin knew how to take care of himself, and the little minx might very well charm Ore into playing nice. Slade smirked. He _was_ charming, though he didn’t know it. Which, somehow, made the charm even greater. So naïve, though, sometimes. So… honorable. Well, some of that shine had worn away by now, just as Slade knew it would, but he found himself wanting the teen to keep some of it. It was, somehow, his core. Something he needed, to be Robin.

The man frowned. This whole mission was making a big mess of all of this. The plan was about to be set in motion, what if he wasn’t there when it happened? It wasn’t like he was in an easy two-way communication with the outside world, after all. In there he was much more helpless than he liked to think about. But it would be worth it, in the end. He hoped.

The woman next to him stirred and woke up, startling. She sat up on the bedside and looked around. Slade saw haunted shadows in her eyes, but chose to ignore them. He was not a nice man; he didn’t have to be empathetic.

The woman spotted him and then seemed to consider her options.

“Fuck again? Ten dollar?” she asked in very broken English.

“No. Get dressed and get out. Your money is on the table,” Slade said and gestured. He wasn’t sure that she understood his exact words, but she grasped the sentiment of it, and quickly pulled on the tattered sequined dress she had come here in.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said quietly as she gathered the cash and left.

Slade just grunted and waved her away. He had left more than double than she had charged. He didn’t know why. Maybe the damn kid was rubbing off on him too.

That sentence got him thinking of the teen again, in very pleasurable situations, and after a while he actually regretted shooing the whore away. She could at least have sucked him off, even though she wouldn’t be as good as Robin. The young man was a natural. The best he had had. If Ore had hurt him, Slade vouched to rip the man to shreds.

Robin was again busy with the tablet, trying to find anything connected to Slade and the mission, and suddenly, there it was. Her name, Ai Fen. She had gone missing. The article named her a whistle blower, which was quite accurate, as she had written an essay titled ‘The one who supplied the whistle’. Robin didn’t dare breathe as he continues reading, as if, somehow, he would cause the text to change. There was no mention of any international involvement. Everything pointed to the Chinese government. Robin very much hoped that the real reason behind her disappearance was a tall, whitehaired mercenary. Who was on his way back here now, as quickly as he could.

“Kid, wanna play?”

Robin looked up, expecting to have a cock wagging in his face, but instead the invite had come from the poker table. As reading the news only made him more frustrated and anxious, Robin decided that yes, he could do with some distraction. He nodded, got up and took a seat at the table, looking around.

There was Miles the baby-eater, who Slade had told Robin about before. The man was eerily normal, never got in any trouble and wasn’t the butt of any trouble either. The teen found it weird that a neutral in here was a guy who had eaten babies to boost his powers. Next to him was a big blond man, Björn, a Scandinavian who had a collar that supposedly kept his telepathic powers in check. He had been recruited by the Russians as a spy, as far as Robin had gathered, and when he had been arrested, he had been very chummy with the president. He was also among the calmer prisoners here, although he could go into rages at times, Robin had seen, when someone pissed him off enough, but he had a long fuse. They all had, at the table. It would be impossible to play with people who would try to kill you over a bad hand, so the group only invited players they thought would be able to handle losing, without losing their minds. The last man at the table for this game was Blackhead. The man hadn’t chosen his unfortunate name by himself. He had tried to make it as the supervillain Black Zed, taking people over with a mind controlling venom that shot out of his fingers in the form of little darts. The man was wearing gloves that he was unable to take off outside his cell. He also had quite bad adult acne, and so his nickname had come naturally.

Robin nodded to them all in greeting and sat down. The poker group consisted of a handful of other men, but they rarely played all at once, and apparently the others were busy at the moment.

“So… what are we playing? Go fish?” Robin asked lightly and got some chuckles in reply. He was handed a stack of the scraps that counted as markers, and was dealt in.

The teen was good at reading faces, but that wasn’t quite enough in poker. He only knew the rules well enough not to make too much of a mess of things, but he didn’t have enough experience to have any tactics down, meaning he relied heavily on getting a good hand.

And hour later he was still in the game, if only just. The others seemed to enjoy playing with him, and Robin didn’t take losing seriously.

“Any time you wanna call with a blow job, I’m game,” Björn told him with a grin.

“You’re not a bad looking man, but I’m practically married. Don’t wanna cheat on Daddy, he’ll get grumpy. It’s bad enough that he’s in isolation. When he gets out, he’s not gonna be fun to deal with. Trust me, you’d want him to go after my ass, not yours.”

“True, true,” the blond shrugged. “So… isolation, huh? For what?”

Robin raised his eyes from his cards and glanced at the man. “He had a bit of a falling out with the TV… got pretty crazy. They took him away.”

“M-hm.” The teen could hear that the man didn’t believe him and gave him a small shrug, indicating to him that he knew that he knew, but couldn’t say any more. The man gave a very small nod in reply. He understood.

“I heard that Pitbull guy lost it the other day,” Miles said. “Hasn’t seen him since.”

“Pitbull?” Robin asked.

“You know him, you teased him about that JL-crap he tried to pull,” Blackhead droned.

“Ah, yes. That one. Loved taking him down a peg. Wonderful way to get to know people,” Robin snickered.

“Strange world view for a hero, isn’t it?” Miles asked. “What the hell did you do to land yourself in this place anyway?”

“Yeah, we kind of all assumed that you were undercover or something, but hell, I wouldn’t take being a hero serious enough to go through this,” Björn said.

“Missed that in the news, huh?” Robin said.

“Missed what? What happened?” Miles wanted to know as he dealt a new hand. Robin looked at his cards and inwardly groaned. This would most likely be his last hand.

“I was set up for the murder of three guys… don’t you have news privileges?”

“We do,” Miles nodded, “But it wasn’t like your trial was public, and they hushed it all down. The only thing that was reported was that a hero had been sentenced to prison, nothing about what the person did.”

Robin froze, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form a sentence. “But… but… surely there was _something_?”

“No, nothing. I even went back and checked once you showed up, because I was curious. I don’t know if they censored anything, but I sure as hell couldn’t find more than that,” Björn said.

“But… then… then how did… How did Slade know?” Robin asked. The other men looked interested, but shrugged.

“Well, one thing is clear,” Blackhead said. “Deathstroke didn’t find it out from anyone in here.”

Robin’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and he couldn’t focus on the game anymore. He played his bad hand, lost and was out. He thanked the group for the game and left, feeling strangely gutted. He walked back to the cell and sank down on the bed. How had Slade known? Then the teen remembered the note in the med capsule. If that came from the outside, then there was a possibility he had found out through that. The teen relaxed for a moment before realizing that the outside source wouldn’t have easily known either, as it clearly wasn’t public knowledge. It created a knot in his stomach that he simply couldn’t get rid of. He needed to go talk to someone, and the only one on the list was Ore. As he had no idea where the man’s cell was, he hoped the man was still in one of the common areas. Luckily he found him in the gym.

“Sir, are you busy?” he asked.

“Never too busy for you, little hero,” the man grinned. “Is it an itch that I can help with?”

Robin blushed a little as he had been struggling with that, but shook his head. “Can we talk in private?” he asked.

“Sure. I need a shower. Come.”

Not the kind of privacy the teen had hoped for, but he had to take what he could get with Ore.

The man sauntered into the shower room, told the men in there to piss off and make sure no one came in. Robin watched as they quickly obeyed, and Ore started undressing. The teen promptly turned around which made the man laugh.

“You are a funny little hero, but I don’t like people having their back towards me when they talk to me. Turn around.”

It was an order which Robin didn’t dare disobey, so he did, but he kept his eyes averted. Not that he hadn’t seen the man’s parts before, but he was just very uncomfortable.

“So, what did you want?” Ore asked, as he turned on the water.

“I… I found out something today. When we first met, you said you knew about me from the news… was that the news of my trial?”

“No, just general news. Your team is quite famous, after all, not just in the Jump City area. Why?”

“Well… was there any news about the trial, then? Or what happened? Do you know why I’m in there?”

“No, it was all very hush-hush. Why?”

“Because Slade knew! He knew exactly what had happened, and by then he was already in here! How did he know?!” Robin asked, exasperated, looking straight into the man’s eyes.

Ore, who had been busy soaping up his arm pits, stilled. There was a new sharpness to his eyes now, a new tension.

“How indeed? Is there something you’re not telling me, little hero? That could be very dangerous…”

Robin made a very big decision then and there. Slade had not been honest with him, and who the hell knew if the man was even going to come back. Also, he needed leverage with Ore, especially as the days were ticking by.

“Slade has a plan. To get out of here. I know that much. Not much more, although there are one or two things…” Robin said.

“Spill.”

The teen hesitated.

Ore frowned. “ _Now_ , bitch.”

Robin swallowed. If the man used that epithet, he should probably be careful.

“I saw him get a message once. In a medicine capsule,” he admitted quietly. It only then occurred to him that Ore might sell that information for his own gain and stop the man’s plans. However, Robin counted on the man being more interested in a possible way out of here.

“What did it say?”

“I don’t know! He wouldn’t tell me, he wouldn’t tell me anything about the plan. He even refused to bring me unless I could prove I could kill someone,” Robin said, the words hurried.

“Zaid?”

“Well… yes, but… it was mostly an accident,” the teen muttered, looking ashamed.

Ore snorted, amused.

“Anything else?”

“He was not happy about leaving. It might mess up his plan, he said.”

“So it would have been put in place soon, would it?”

“It seems so,” the teen sighed. “I hope he comes back soon and it still works. I can’t imagine years in here.”

“When he comes back, you tell him I want in,” Ore said.

Robin hesitated and then decided to play hard ball.

“He wouldn’t even _consider_ letting you in on the plan if you had touched me.”

The man snorted. “Don’t fool yourself, Deathstroke doesn’t give a rat’s ass about what happens to you.”

“Well, no, not me personally,” Robin shot back, although the words had actually stung. “But the disrespect... playing with his toy? Trust me, he won’t take that lightly.”

The man looked at him, searching for the lie, the hesitation, but found none.

“Fine!” he growled. “But first he has to come back at all, little hero. He might not.”

“I won’t give up hope for another week or two,” Robin claimed.

The man muttered something to himself. “I had looked forwards to a few days from now. Was going to bring you to my cell. I have a single one. Big bed. Custom made. You’d enjoy it.” As he spoke the man had started, almost absentmindedly, stroking himself. Robin couldn’t help but stare. Ore, it seemed, was more of a shower than a grower, but holy shit.

“You got the itch bad, don’t you, bitch?” the man chuckled.

“I, No. No, I…” Robin finally pulled his eyes away.

“You were gnawing at that bottom lip of yours like you couldn’t wait to suck on something bigger,” the dark man claimed. “Good. Because if Deathstroke is gone, then I know I can ignore your objections when I drag you to my room. You want it. You’re just scared of it at the moment. I’ll make sure you become friends. Very good friends.”

“I… I need to go,” Robin stammered and just fled. That night he had even more intense dreams than ever. Ore didn’t feature in them, though. Only Slade.

The next day was a free day. Many slept in as much as was allowed, or ate breakfast and went back to their cells to sleep. It was early morning and the common room was basically abandoned.

For once, Robin was the one to first spot the person walking in through the door. He blinked and sat up straighter, cuing others to what was going on. There was a stranger among them.

“So, it’s here people are?” the guy said. He was young, couldn’t be much older than Robin, the teen thought. About his build and height too. He looked completely unperturbed by the curious and not all quite pure looks he was getting. He swaggered into the room like he owned it, looking around. “I’m getting bored. I’m looking for a friend of mi -” the young man’s green eyes reached his, and the newcomer froze.

“What the…” he said.

Robin’s mind was working overtime. There was something about this guy…

“Robin?” the guy blurted out. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

Something clicked in the hero’s mind, and he gasped.

“Red X?!”

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Did you expect that one? Me neither. Holy shit, what will this mean for the story? Don’t ask me, I have no clue, I only write what the characters tell me to write.


	9. New Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Important for AO3-readers: I’ve gotten a few comments about “who” Red X is, like is he Jason Todd? Some other DC character? That made me realize that, holy shit, you guys haven’t read my 10 + years of Sladin stories on fanfiction -dot-net! (same username). To those newbies: welcome! You’ll get to know “my” Red X now, an original character, just as he was created for the show (I don’t buy into any of the fan theories about who he’s supposed to “be”, so I, a long time ago, created my own Red X… my long time readers seem to like him a lot and don’t even think of him as an OC, so I’m happy… I hope you’ll like him too, he’s a bit of a… ride. 😉 And if you like the stories I have posted here, please consider visiting fanfiction-dot-net! I will try to (slowly) move some stories over here eventually, but it’s a lot of work, so… yeah…

The thief was oblivious to a few bad elements closing in on him, but Robin saw them.

“Stop!” he yelled. “That’s a friend of mine!”

“I am?” the thief asked. “I am!” he confirmed when he finally looked around and realized that he was in danger. He then rushed up to the hero. “The hell is this? What are you doing here? Where’s Slade?”

“You knew he’d be here?” Robin asked.

“Of-fucking-course I did, I’m his way out! Where is he?” Red hissed, making sure no one overheard.

“Well, the thing is…” Robin said, “…he’s… out.”

“HE’S WHAT?!”

“I think we need to talk. Come with me,” Robin said, dragging the other young man with him.

“Hey, you’re gonna share, aren’t you?” someone called after them.

“Share what?” Red X asked.

“You don’t wanna know,” Robin muttered.

Back in the cell, the thief looked around. “He’s really not here?!”

“Sure, he is, he’s hiding under the bed,” Robin drawled. He finally took a closer look at the young man who stole his alter ego. He wasn’t bad looking at all. His green eyes stood out in a somewhat pale, freckly face, and he had swept back dark copper colored hair, which was just long enough to touch his shoulders. “No, you idiot, of course he isn’t!” he added when the other teen started to bend down to look.

“Prison made you mean,” the redhead said, playing hurt.

Robin took a deep breath. “Look, Red X-”

“Call me Red. We’re friends now, right?”

“Sure. Red. Yes, Slade is gone. They brought him out on a mission. He’s been gone five days now, and it was supposed to be one to two weeks, so of course I’m hoping he’ll return-”

“He fucking _must_ , kid! Or we’re stuck here! We’re stuck! He paid me a lot for this, but not near enough to stick around this place for longer than I have to.”

“So… you don’t have like… a way out? Right now?”

“Not as such, no.”

“Not to be ‘mean’, as you put it, but what does Slade need you for?” Robin asked. He wanted to find out some details about this damn plan at long last.

“I brought something he needs,” Red said.

“What?”

The redhead tapped the side of his head.

Robin stared at him. “Ok. So… we’re screwed,” he concluded.

A little later, Robin had filled Red X in on what had happened with Slade. It was the redhead’s turn to explain.

“Well, he approached me a few months back. He had this plan-”

“What plan?”

“Didn’t tell me,” the thief shrugged.

“I hate it when he does that,” Robin muttered. As there was nowhere to sit apart from the bed, they had climbed up to the top bunk and were sitting by the head- and footboard respectively, cross legged, facing each other.

“Anyway, I needed to do some stuff and then made sure I got arrested.”

“What stuff, Red?” Robin almost whined.

“I’m… Actually, I wanna wait for Slade before I say anything about that.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Robin groaned.

“Your language has changed too,” Red pointed out. “Lovely eyes, though.”

The teen gasped and touched his face. Yes, by habit he had taken off his mask as they came into the cell. Dammit! But the damage had been done. He instead realized what the other teen had said as they first saw each other.

“You didn’t know I was here?”

“Hell no! No idea! I mean, I knew you had been arrested for something, but…”

“You… didn’t know for what, either? Come on, there had to have been gossip? What about the Titans?”

“Kid, I’m not sure they know either. It was all very weird. I mean, I bet like a hundred people were involved in one way or another, and not even one has spilled the beans.”

“That’s… very hard to believe,” Robin frowned.

“I know, right!? And I’ve asked! I was curious! So, what happened?”

“I was framed.”

“Obviously, but how?”

Robin blinked, looking at the other young man. His words had been instantaneous, without a hint of sarcasm. Red X didn’t think he had done anything wrong, not for a second. Robin himself had doubted that many times, in his darker moments. It felt amazing to have someone believe him like that for once.

“I… We had been partying. I woke up… there were three unknown men… killed with a knife I was holding.”

The redhead stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing.

“That was funny?” Robin asked coldly.

“I… I mean… yes?” Red said. “Talk about overkill! The guys who framed you didn’t care if it was really believable. You stabbing three people to death? Nah, man, no chance. Accidental death of someone? Maybe. But butchering three people in cold blood, even drunk off your ass? Not a chance.”

“Thank you.” Robin put all his emotions into those two words, and the other teen fell silent, almost somber.

“Holy shit, we might be stuck here.”

Robin was used to being the one that needed cheering up, even if Slade’s methods usually involved a slap or sex… or both… but he wanted to try.

“Listen, Red, if Slade escapes, he is going to get us out. One way or another. I mean… you’re partners, right?”

“He’s Slade. He doesn’t give a fuck,” Red snorted. “Well, possibly about you, but me? He paid me. I knew there were risks…”

“I’m sure he’ll… do something. At least, like… tell Batman.” Robin insisted. “I asked him to.”

“Yes, well, I asked him to fuck me, but nooooo,” Red snorted.

The teen hero felt overwhelmed with conflicting feelings for a moment, so much so that he had problems forming a reply.

“Um. Oh,” was all he said.

“You ok?” Red asked.

“I’m… yeah. I just… it’s nothing,” Robin claimed, shrugging.

The thief narrowed his eyes. “He fucked you, didn’t he?”

Robin blushed and refused to look up, but nodded.

“Did he rape you?”

Another nod.

“The fucking bastard!” Red growled.

“You’re… angry?” the hero asked. “I… kinda thought you’d like… laugh.”

“My morals might be a bit… loose around the edges, but hell, Robin! Laugh at someone getting raped!? No way!”

Robin smiled warmly at the other teen. “Thank you. And… and it wasn’t too bad. I mean… I actually… I mean… by the end… not at first, but…”

“All the sense you make fits easily on top of my attention span,” the redhead claimed. “And it’s quite short.”

“I’m saying that… it was consensual at the end. And he saved my life in here. I don’t think I’d be alive if it wasn’t for him,” Robin said firmly. He didn’t know why, but he felt an urgent need to defend the situation. He wasn’t sure if he defended Slade or himself, but he needed to do it.

“Hmmm…” Was all that Red said, not sounding convinced. Then he changed the subject slightly. “So... tough in here?”

When the buzzer announcing lunch eventually rang, hours later, Robin had filled Red in on everything. He had tried to smooth over some things, but the other teen was like a blood hound when it came to white lies and omitting details. The hero had had to fight back tears on occasion, but it helped to talk about it all. It helped him sort through his experiences and see them from an outside perspective.

“Lunch?” Red asked, looking puzzled.

“Yeah?” Robin didn’t understand what the issue was.

“I thought it was late in the evening. I know it was dark outside when they brought me here, there was a window…”

“You didn’t see anything else, did you?” Robin asked eagerly. “No hints as to where we are?”

“Nothing,” the other teen shrugged. “But really? Lunch?”

“I mean…” the hero said thoughtfully. “I know the different ‘departments’ here work in shifts, so it makes sense that that doesn’t match up to the actual time here for all the shifts.”

“Ah… yeah… maybe?” Red said. “But isn’t that weird? Being outside in the yard in the middle of the night?”

“There’s… no outside,” Robin said.

“What… like…. never?” The redhead looked around “And… no windows?”

“No.”

The young man seemed to curl in on himself a little. “Shit, that feels… not good,” he said, obviously lacking the words to describe his feelings properly.

“Don’t I know it,” Robin muttered.

The thief seemed to pull himself together and jumped down on the floor. “Alright. Food. Is it any good here?”

“You’ll love the menu,” Robin drawled.

“Why did you lie to me? Don’t lie to me!” the redhead complained a while later as they were both stabbing brown mush with their forks.

“What are you talking about, this is the best stuff ever!” Robin grinned at him.

“It’s… brown.”

“Brown is the best tasting color?” Robin suggested.

The other teen gave him a level look. “…ew?”

“What? No! NO! I wasn’t thinking of- No! I meant like chocolate! And like meat and gravy, and…”

“Shit.”

“No! I told you, I wasn’t think-”

“Kid, shut up. A mountain just walked in.”

Only now Robin realized that the redhead had been staring over his shoulder. He turned around.

“That’s Ore.”

“The guy that wants to…?”

“Yup.”

There was a grin spreading on the redhead’s face. “Think he’ll settle for a substitute?”

“What? Really? You’d wanna…?” Robin said, expectantly. Then he grew serious again. “No. No, you haven’t seen… I mean… No. You’d get hurt.”

“Pft, mind if I chat him up?”

The hero snorted with laughter. “He’d swat you away like a fly. One thing I’ve noticed with Ore; he doesn’t have any respect for people throwing themselves on him.”

“Likes the hunt, huh?” Red grinned.

Robin snickered and nodded. “I think me telling him ‘no’, is the main reason he pursues me.”

“That, and you being sex on legs.”

“I’M NOT-”

“Hello, little hero. New friend?”

Robin hiccupped and looked up. Ore had just arrived at their table, and luckily didn’t show any signs of having heard him.

“Um… yeah, I… this is an actual friend, Ore,” Robin stressed, hoping to save Red’s life, or at least ass. “This is Red X. Red X, this is Ore.”

“…’llo, Sir.”

Robin had to look over in surprise at the diminutive, shy voice to make sure it had really been Red X speaking. The teen looked positively frightened, but there was no way in hell it wasn’t an act.

“Well hello, little ginger. Let’s be… friends, as well, shall we?” the huge man said. Only getting a jerky nod in reply as the thief seemed afraid to even look at him.

“Ore, please don’t scare him, today has been a bit… much,” Robin pleaded, playing along with the teen’s act. “He needs to settle down a bit.”

The big man snorted and ambled off with his tray towards his usual table.

“He’s hot,” Red whispered.

“He’s hung,” Robin replied.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” the redhead snorted.

“Well, over a certain point… it is,” the hero insisted.

“Pffft… may I suggest a challenge?”

“You may not.”

“This is why Beast Boy think you’re boring.”

“He wouldn’t want an arm shoved up his ass either,” Robin pointed out, ignoring the jab.

“Well, that’s why _he’s_ boring,” Red snickered.

“We’ll talk about this more back in our cell… well… my cell… where’s yours?”

“Don’t know, down some hall or other,” the thief shrugged. “I share with someone called Miles. Seems like a decent guy. What? Why are you laughing? Robin? What!?”

After the hero had explained about the particular tastes of a certain inmate, Red looked paler than usual. “Ok, well, I was gonna move in with you, anyway,” he said.

“I’m not sure we are allowed to… or maybe we are?” Robin looked confused.

“I don’t care,” Red snorted. “I am.”

“Well, bring the blanket from your cell,” Robin told him.

“What, you don’t have two in yours?”

“Well, you’ll see,” the teen grinned.

“Fine. Keep your secrets,” the thief muttered.

“Well, you could tell me about the plan?” the hero suggested.

“Nope. Don’t wanna risk stuff… Slade would kill me. No, actually, he’ll keep me alive in here for as long as he could, the cruel bastard.”

Robin chuckled, as he hadn’t actually expected the other to spill the beans.

“So… lunch is done… what do you do for fun in here?” Red asked.

“Well… there’s the gym?” Robin suggested.

“I said for _fun_ ,” Red clarified, slowly.

“What, you like working out, right? We could spar?”

“Yeah, I’d love some bruises on top of everything else. I’m a lover, not a fighter, kid. Which gives me an idea…”

“No.”

“Whyyy?”

“Slade.”

“Oh.” Red was quiet for a bit. “You said something about poker?”

“You’re actually good!” Robin commented an hour later. He had convinced the others to let the new guy play, and they were all regretting it. The hero had been knocked out a few hands back and was now just watching.

“I’m good at anything that can make me a quick buck,” Red smirked. Then he looked down on stacks of scraps he had won and crinkled his nose. “Even if this is the saddest collections of winnings I’ve ever gotten. And I’ve played for condoms once.”

“You don’t even get to keep them,” Robin chuckled.

“Aw, but there’s like parts of a whole toothpick here! I could be the guy with the toothpick!” Red objected.

“Well, I haven’t actually seen any toothpicks around about from these broken up ones…” Robin realized.

“They got pulled years ago,” said the oldest man at the table, who went by the nondescriptive name Smith. The man must have been well into his sixties and seemed to survive on his reputation which, as far as Robin knew, didn’t contain any details apart from the warning; don’t cross him.

“Um… I was wondering… who has been in here the longest?” Robin asked.

Smith seemed to think about it. “Probably me, by now. I’ve been here since it opened, twenty years ago. Before then, I was somewhere else.”

“Shit… sorry to hear that…” the teen said, solemnly.

The man looked up at him with piercing gray eyes, and a cold smirk. “Trust me, kid, you wouldn’t have wanted me out there.”

Robin looked away, because the man was probably right.

“All in,” Björn said suddenly, getting everyone to refocus on the game.

“I can’t match that,” Red noticed. He was doing very well, but Björn had just had a good hand and was going to use that to his advantage.

“You can throw in a blow job?” the Scandinavian suggested with a smirk.

The redhead gave him a once over. “Do you wanna give or get?”

“Get.”

“I might be willing to give,” Miles spoke up with a wide grin.

“Uh-uh, I’ve heard were your mouth has been, and I’m afraid you’d think I’m younger than I am,” Red told him.

Robin, who didn’t believe his ears about any of this, held his breath, hoping the thief hadn’t stepped in it. Everyone, including Miles, just guffawed, however.

“So how about blowing me?” Björn said, reminding them about the important issue at hand.

“Sure, as long as you shower first,” the Redhead shrugged, pushing his markers forwards.

“Red!” Robin exclaimed. “You can’t do that!”

The other teen gave him a surprised look. “What? Why?”

“Because… because…” Robin faltered.

“He’s not bad looking, I’m effing stunning, we both want it… so what’s wrong with it?” Red asked.

“It’s just that… it’s… this is just poker, and…” Robin was still desperately trying to find an argument.

“Ah… I see… we need to be in love and perhaps married before we can do such dirty things?” Red asked in a sing-song voice. “Was Slade’s proposal romantic?”

“Fuck you,” Robin growled and stood up. “Fuck whoever you want in here like some cheap whore if you want to. I’m going to the gym.”

Robin left, feeling strangely morally right but logically in the wrong about the whole thing. Again, he used the sandbag to work through some of his anger, but he didn’t really work up a sweat. He has only been at it for about ten minutes when Red walked in.

“So I won the hand, kid. And the game.”

“Good for you.”

“Come on, don’t be like that! Just because you never had to offer sexual favors in order to survive…”

Robin stopped what he was doing and looked at the other young man, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “I… I’m sorry, Red!”

“Don’t be. I don’t mind, usually, I just have a cash cow to access when I need it,” the redhead grinned.

“Yeah, but… you don’t have to? Not for a game?” Robin almost pleaded.

“No, but it might make my life in here easier. Even though I hope it will be a short one.” The redhead paused. “Stay. I should have used the word ‘stay’. Dammit, I hope I didn’t jinx things.”

Robin chuckled. “I’m sure you didn’t. So, there’s still a few hours to dinner, are you up for a workout now?”

The other teen sighed and nodded. “Might as well. So, this is all you do all day? Play poker and work out?”

“Um, no, this is our free day. Tomorrow’s work.”

“Work? Like what? License plates?”

“Laundry.”

“No, really? You _have_ to?”

“I honestly don’t know what happens if you skip. I know you won’t be popular with the others, because we all want clean clothes… maybe you won’t get food either, who knows?”

“Not worth finding out?” the redhead asked.

“I think Slade would appreciate it if we kept our heads down and didn’t draw more attention to ourselves than we have to,” Robin replied.

“You’re probably right.” Red sighed. “Things are more serious than I am used to… I don’t like it.”

“I’m not exactly a fan either, and you are in here by _choice_ ,” Robin reminded him. “How did you get sent here anyway? I mean… how did you know they wouldn’t just put you in a normal prison?”

“Weeeell… not sure I can tell you that,” the thief said. “Let’s just say that I made sure I got on certain people’s radar.”

“Ah... well… that makes sense, in a way,” Robin shrugged.

“Now I actually _wanna_ tell you, because you don’t sound properly impressed,” Red muttered.

“I’m sure you did something very cool,” Robin said lightly.

“CIA, it was the CIA, I got right up in their faces and stole stuff even they didn’t officially knew existed,” the redhead said. 

Robin grinned.

“You tricked me. I feel used. And not in a good way,” Red X growled.

“Sorry.”

“Oh, well,” the other teen shrugged like it wasn’t really a problem. “So… work out, then?”

Sparring with someone in your general weight class was fun. Red X might not be as technically proficient as Robin, but he had some street moves that sometimes took the teen by surprise. He was also a quick learner, very limber and had great instincts. Robin was pretty sure that he’d be able to take the thief down if they were fighting for real, but not as easily as most of the grown men in here.

“Whoa, time out,” Red said after a while, making the gesture and ducking out of the way from a foot swishing over his head. “I need to catch my breath. Been a while.”

“Have you ever trained in any type of formal fighting?” Robin asked, curiously. Truth is, he knew even less about Red X than about Slade.

“Nah, you need money for that. Or a teacher,” the teen shrugged, getting some water from a water fountain set in the wall. “Besides, I like tech. That’s why I stole the suite,” he said.

“How did you know about it?” Robin asked, curiously.

“Slade told me.”

“What, really?”

“Don’t look so jealous. I work for him now and then. He gave me a shopping list and I got the stuff together.”

“Not doing any actual shopping, I assume,” Robin drawled.

“Not much, no,” the other teen grinned. “Anyway, he told me about you trying to trick him, and he thought the suit would, well… suit me and my skills. And it really did. So, thanks!”

“I’d say that you’re welcome, but… yeah,” Robin muttered. “Showers?” he added, nodding towards the door into the common shower room.

“Sure,” Red agreed. “Oh, this is… cozy…” he said moment later after discovering the nonexistent privacy level.

“Yeah, well, don’t drop the soap,” Robin joked and pulled his top over his head. He only then remembered something. “Oh, shit, I forgot you might not get fresh clothes!”

“The what now?!” the thief, who was quite sweaty, exclaimed. “Come on!”

“I’ll go through that with you later…” Robin sighed. “Place your hand here,” he said, demonstrating. He got a bundle of clothes, including underwear, but with full benefits, he always did. Luckily, Red did too.

They showered, Robin trying and failing not to look, but he wasn’t the only one. Robin was washing his hair when Ore joined them.

“Holy-” he heard Red exclaim.

“Well, hello, little ginger, seeing something you like?”

“I… I… Hello, Sir,” Red said, but Robin could hear that, this time, it wasn’t _all_ an act. The thief was somewhat distressed. “Robin?! Are you done?!”

“Just about,” Robin said, sensing the other teen’s urgency to get out of there. He rinsed his hair, nodded to Ore, and caught the towel that Red practically threw in his face. They grabbed their clothes and hurried back to the cell in their towels.

“Hey, calm down, I know he’s… you know… scary, but-” Robin started.

“Did you see that thing?!” Red exclaimed.

“Well, yes, remember me telling you I was worried about Ore, and that is the main reason I-”

“I want it!”

“You… what?”

“Come on, it’s huge!”

“Exactly!” Robin screeched.

Red blinked and looked at him. “You’re not good at being gay.”

“I’m good at wanting to stay alive and whole and not effing wrecked!” Robin objected. “Which is what will happen if Slade doesn’t come back soon.”

“Well, I think I can play the hero for once,” Red leered. “I’ll take that bullet for you. Gladly.”

“You’re insane,” Robin whined. “I couldn’t let you do that!”

“Who’s insane now? I want to! I love big cocks! Really! I’ve had guys and toys almost that big!”

“Oversharing!” Robin objected, and sighed, shoulder’s slumping. “If you can distract him if he gets too… friendly…. I owe you one.”

“One what? Fuck?”

“Do you know what an expression is?” Robin said sarcastically.

“Not something I care to be owed,” the thief grinned. “Okay, okay, just kidding! Damn, you look scary when you’re actually angry. So… what do we do for now?”

“TV until dinner?” Robin suggested, and TV it was.

It wasn’t long until dinner was served, and the meal was surprisingly uneventful. People were gathered around Ore, not just his usual ‘servants’ but the leaders of the gang as well. Robin glanced over, not liking the look of that, but there was no way he could approach them at the moment.

After dinner they found Miles, who showed Red back to their cell. He seemed a bit disappointed that the teen wouldn’t stick around, but didn’t argue. Red grabbed the blanket in there and he and Robin went back to Robin’s cell.

“Is this what sleepovers are like?” Red X asked, snickering.

“Not sure, those kinds of things weren’t really in my childhood,” Robin shrugged.

“Well, mine neither, but you kinda need a house to invite friends to sleepovers. And friends.”

“Had a house,” the hero admitted. “A big one. But friends…? My life was kinda… messed up.” He would never blame Bruce for not providing him with a normal childhood, and he wasn’t bitter that he was missing some references, but sometimes it was a bit awkward to talk about.

They watched TV, but Red X started yawning long before lights out. For him, it was quite late, after all. He bid Robin goodnight and rolled up in his blanket on the top bunk.

Robin turned the TV off and went to bed himself.

He woke up a few hours later, to someone awkwardly climbing into bed with him.

“Huh?” he mumbled.

“It’s cold as fuck!” the thief hissed. “Scoot over, we’re gonna snuggle!”

“We are?” Robin mumbled, still half asleep.

“I’m bringing an extra blanket?” the redhead offered.

“Mm… kay…” the hero agreed and soon he felt warmer too. He drifted off with the thief’s body pressed against his back and idly wondered why he always ended up as the small spoon.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: so new people: now you got to know Red X. Hope you like him! 😉


	10. New Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So what are the boys up to this week? Let’s see…

Robin woke up with and arm and a leg wrapped around him. Naturally, his thoughts first went to it being Slade, but the man was not _that_ clingy. And this arm wasn’t anything near as heavy.

“Uh…?” the teen mumbled.

“… morning…” came a tired reply, and then the memories came back.

“Slept ok?” he asked, not really sure how to make small talk in this situation.

“Just trying to shut out the possibility that I might be in here for life,” Red X said darkly. Robin hugged the arm around him lightly. Red X might be a lot of fast talk and jokes, but he was only nineteen, Robin had found out yesterday. Younger than the teen had thought, and he must be scared. Of course he was, it was only natural.

“I know. I’ve… had a few breakdowns, as you know,” the hero said softly. “But we _are_ getting out of here. One way or another.”

“Can both ways be quick and easy?” Red asked.

“Yup,” Robin chuckled. “Just after Slade gets here…. And I’ve kicked his ass…”

“Um… sure you’d want to do that?” the redhead asked, slowly disentangling himself from the hero and sitting up. Robin sat up too, frowning.

“He lied to me. Or is keeping something from me. There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.”

“Surströmming?”

“That’s Sweden.”

“I thought it was Shakespeare?”

Robin sighed and shook his head. “Get up. Get dressed.”

“It at least hurts less to annoy you, than Slade,” Red snickered and did as he was asked.

“For now. Don’t’ push it,” Robin joked. “But anyway, I need the truth.”

“If you go off on him, he might leave you here,” Red warned. “Trust me, if he doesn’t feel like he has control over you…”

Robin muttered ugly words under his breath as he quickly pulled his clothes on. Then he sighed again. “You might be right. You won’t say anything, will you?”

“Not a word.”

“Not to be an ass, but… how can I be sure you won’t leave me behind? You know the plan, after all, he needs you, and if you think I might endanger it…?”

“I don’t. There’s room for you in it, though maybe only you, so Ore? Well… I’m going to leave that to Slade.”

“Make sure that you act ignorant if Ore asks you about the plan, or he might force it out of you,” Robin warned.

“Acting ignorant is my specialty,” the thief joked.

“It’s an act, then?” Robin smirked back.

“Well, I had that one coming,” Red admitted.

“Reminds me of something I read on like a bumper sticker once,” Robin said. “If ignorance is bliss… why aren’t more people happy?”

“Might be the reason Slade is so damn grumpy,” Red suggested, making the hero laugh.

When they arrived at breakfast their good mood vanished, however. Half way though, a group, consisting of the gang leaders, came up to them.

“We’ve talked to Ore. You’re not under his protection, Ginger,” Blade, the new leader of Zaid’s gang, said. “We’re just here to tell you that you’d better choose a daddy by the end of the day… for your own sake.”

“Hey, why would I be a bitch?” Red asked. “I might be young and not as hard to look at as you are, but why the hell does that give you the right to say what I have to do and not?”

“It’s been decided. You don’t have to like it. And you’re gonna like being free game even less.”

“He’s still under my protection,” Robin spoke up.

He got a nasty leer from Blade. “And Ore said that if you try to interfere, we’re welcome to gang up on you. You’re a good fighter, but against all of us? At once?”

Robin stood up. “I’m willing to risk it.”

Red put a hand on his arm. “Easy there. Rob and I need to talk things though… but we have until the end of the day then… after dinner?”

“After dinner,” Blade nodded. “And choose well. My gang is the biggest in here. We’d be real sweet to ya’.”

“Don’t doubt it for a moment,” the redhead muttered. 

After a few more leers and suggestions about what kind of activities Red, and possibly Robin, could expect that night, the group left.

“Great,” Robin growled.

“Why do they want me to choose, anyway?” Red asked. “I mean, why even give me any say?”

“No idea… maybe it’s a submitting kind of thing…? That you kinda sell yourself to your daddy and that gives those creeps a hard-on.”

“It would give Slade one for sure,” the redhead leered.

“Don’t I know it,” Robin muttered. “Anyway, this sucks…”

“Nah, it might be fun,” Red claimed, to the hero’s surprise.

“What?”

“Well, we’ll see if we can come up with a plan, but if we can’t come up with anything better than fighting more than half of the prison, I have an idea.”

“I don’t know you that well,” Robin said, “but I have a feeling I’ll regret that idea…”

Red chuckled, sounding unsuitably carefree in this situation. Then the thief blinked and looked across the room.

“Is that Mammoth?”

Robin glanced over. “Yeah?”

“ _He’s_ in here?”

“No, he’s on a camping trip,” Robin said.

“Your sarcasm is hurtful. You didn’t tell me!”

“Really? Well, I must have forgotten it… he’s not been much of an issue, to be honest… I mean… in comparison. You didn’t see him yesterday?”

“Nope. But hey, it wasn’t like I was checking everybody out. Huh. How did he end up here?”

“No idea. You’ll have to ask… do you, like… know each other?”

“Not really, no. Slade dealt with the H.I.V.E when he had to, but I always had a feeling that he didn’t like them much, as a concept, I mean.”

Robin nodded, somehow liking hearing that. The idea that Slade looked down on other villains or disliked them was a bit… comforting, in a weird way.

“So at least he’s not part of the plan?” Robin asked.

“Not unless Slade haven’t told me something…” Red shrugged. “Which, I guess, is possible. But I don’t think so. Dammit, I need to go ask why he’s here!” the redhead ambled over there and spent the rest of the mealtime talking the big man. Robin was curious but didn’t think Mammoth would open up if he was there, so he just shrugged and focused on eating.

When the thief came back, Robin could see that he was trying not to laugh. He was trying so hard that he was almost vibrating.

“What?” the hero asked, curiously.

“So, big-brain over there is like convinced that he was caught as the master mind behind this big plan… but when he told me what had happened… long story short; the team left him behind. They needed someone as a distraction, and he did his job… it’s just very clear that they never meant for him to get away too.”

“The H.I.V.E?” Robin asked.

“Nah, some other group. They did high end-stuff, and were probably just looking for a scape goat. Poor guy. The high-end stuff and his mutant power probably had him ending up here.”

“I’m so gonna take this place down when I get out of here,” Robin growled.

“I’ll excuse myself from that activity, I’d rather live a life of utter luxury on some resort,” Red said. “I can, with what Slade is paying me.”

The buzzer announcing it was time to leave the cafeteria then sounded.

“Speaking of activities…” Robin said. “Soon you’ll be well and truly introduced to work…” He then quickly explained to the redhead what was expected of him during the work day, and Red didn’t look that happy.

“Hard manual labor? Me?” he whined.

“Are you a ‘lover not a worker’ too?” Robin grinned.

“Exactly!”

They weren’t placed very close together in the laundry room, which worried Robin, who tried to keep his ears and eyes peeled for any trouble brewing in the redhead’s direction. He didn’t notice anything, but at lunch Red had a bruise on his cheekbone.

“What happened?”

“He hit first.”

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah. I hit last,” the other teen smirked. “He was just running his mouth, about what he’d do to me and blah-blah. I told him to shut up, his fist grazed my face and then my elbow grazed his ego.”

“Who was it?”

“I think his name was like… Pitbull?”

Robin snorted. “I’m not surprised. Anyway, we need options!”

“Can’t I just choose Ore? Because _damn_ …” Red said.

“You can, but I’m not sure he’d accept… I mean, like I said before, he’s more of the hunter… and you need to be able to get away, for whatever you have planned…”

They talked quietly through lunch, but didn’t come up with much. They were placed at the same station for the second shift and, besides the worry for that evening, Robin had the best work shift so far. It really felt like Red was a friend, which was absurd when he thought about it. They used to be on opposite sides of the law, and even though Robin had never considered the thief a physical threat, they had still been enemies of course. And now they had spooned. Practically naked. Within a day of meeting. It was, he decided, the prison environment’s fault. It made you hold on for any kind of friendship you could. They knew each other, to some extent, they weren’t a threat to each other and they were basically the same age, so they had bonded. Immediately. And that, the hero knew, was a survival tactic, a necessary one in here, and not just for their physical health but psychologically as well. Robin felt… good. Well, much better than before, at least. There was just that little detail of Red’s bitch-status...

At dinner, Robin was almost frantic, his adrenaline pumping.

“Ok, so the door to the cell will lock, so what we’ll do is that we’ll eat and then run for it,” he whispered to the other teen.

“Weren’t you supposed to be smart?” Red asked flatly. “One; that will only postpone the problem, not solve it, and two, they have posted guards.” He nodded towards the door and Robin glanced over. Six big guys stood there, eating standing up, their eyes on the teens, blocking the path to the hallway.

“Ok… ok, so then we’ll fight,” Robin decided. “Not all of them will go after us, we only have to deal with like… thirty or forty people.”

“Like I told you, I have another idea… but it involves you.”

“What do I have to do?” Robin asked.

“Trust me.”

“Shit,” the teen grunted. At the surprised and almost hurt look in the thief’s eyes, he chuckled. “No. I do. Somewhat. But tell me the plan!”

“Time to decide, ginger!” a voice bellowed across the cafeteria.

“Too late, just go with it,” Red whispered quickly and stood up on the table, pulling Robin up with him. “Settle down, boys, I have a proposition for you,” he said. “Robin here has been feeling reeeeeally lonely since Slade ended up in isolation, and as no one knows when he’s gonna be back, Robin will join me and whoever will be my new daddy,” he started. The room erupted and no one heard Robin hiss in Red’s ear.

“I will _what_?!”

“Play _along_ ,” Red hissed back, and Robin tried very hard to look happy with the idea.

“Now shut up for a bit!” Red yelled, until the crowd quieted down a bit again. “I know what you’re thinking. ‘if I touch Robin, I’m dead’,” he said, and the crowd grew quieter, more nervous now. “And yeah, Slade would rip your spines out, so Robin won’t do _all_ the things for you, but _some_ of the things, sure! And as the both of us is such an amazing prize, I really think it’s fair if it went to the strongest one of you… Mammoth!”

“What?” the man in question gaped.

“We’re yours, daddy!” Red grinned.

“But… I…” The former H.I.V.E-member had time to say before a few people attacked him, trying to prove that they were stronger, and he got busy defending himself. The fight spread and Robin looked around nervously. “We should go. Now!” he hissed.

“Agreed,” Red nodded, and as the guards in front of the door had been pulled into the fight by now, they were free to do so. They hadn’t quite reached the door, though, before someone yelled.

“They are getting away!” and suddenly most of the focus was back on them.

“They will rip us apart if they catch us in this state,” Robin said. “Back to the cell, right now!”

They ran, but as Red X rounded the corner, he ran into something, and Robin, who was right behind, him didn’t have time to stop. They both fell on their asses.

“Little hero and little ginger, what kind of silly games are you playing?” Ore asked, looking down on them.

“I… I…” Red tried.

“We’re just trying to survive a mob,” Robin growled and got back on his feet, pulling Red up with him.

“Bitches causing this amount of problems is usually not allowed,” Ore told them firmly.

“Hey, I did what I was told! I chose a daddy!” Red objected.

“The ‘strongest’ in here?” Ore said sarcastically.

“Yes, well… I… I couldn’t choose you, because… because… you’re… you’re too big for me, and I…” Red played his part again, stammering and blushing.

“But you offered up Robin too, and he’s not free for grabs,” the man pointed out.

Red managed to look completely nonplussed.

“Oh? I… I didn’t know… I just… he’s my friend and I… I didn’t want to be alone… I don’t have much experience, and…”

Robin had to stop himself from snorting. Now, he didn’t exactly know om many notches the thief had on his belt, but he would be surprised if there was much of a belt left.

Remarkably, judging by the man’s leer, Ore fell for it hook, line and sinker.

At that point the mob had caught up, led by Blade.

“Hand him over!” the gang leader demanded, which was exactly the opposite way to behave towards Ore. Robin saw the giant’s eyes grow stone cold in a split second.

“Or…?” he drawled.

“He’s ours!” Blade, not spotting the danger, barked. Some people of the mob weren’t quite as blind, though, and dropped back a bit.

“I didn’t hear him choose you.”

“Well, he can’t choose Mammoth, he’s not a leader!”

“Ginger?” Ore said, almost sweetly, looking down on the teens. “Who’s your daddy?”

“Y-you…?” Red answered, voice shaking a bit.

“Atta boy. Follow me, boys, we’ll have a nice evening together,” Ore said and turned around. “Unless,” he added, looking over his shoulder, “someone has a problem with that?”

Not even Blade had a problem with that. He wasn’t _that_ dumb.

Robin heard people mutter behind them, though.

“They aren’t happy,” he commented, almost to himself.

“Doesn’t matter. I am,” the man grinned down at him.

“Um, about me… joining…” Robin started.

“You will.”

“But-”

“You want your friend to have a nice time, don’t you?” the man asked coldly. The atmosphere shifted and Red shot him a glance with a smidge of fear in it.

“Of course,” Robin said between clenched teeth.

“Good. Then we are all agreed,” Ore stated confidently, and, with heavy arm around each of them, he steered them towards his cell.

When the door opened to the man’s cell, both Robin and Red gasped. It was a single cell, but bigger than theirs, and it had a lot more things, like a bookcase full of books, a huge TV and, first and foremost; a huge bed. It must have been specially made for the man, Robin figured, as it was scaled up to both his height and width.

“Oh, you have nice digs,” Red said in a suitable impressed voice.

“You’ll like it here, little ginger,” the man said, obviously proud. “Little hero, why don’t you remove your mask?”

Robin froze at the request. “No. Sorry,” he hurriedly added, “but… no.”

“No?” the dangerous edge was back in the man’s voice.

“My daddy will be back. I only remove my mask for him. You might not want to… risk things,” Robin said with a quick glance at Red. Ore didn’t know that Red was part of the plan yet, but he would be stupid if he at least didn’t suspect something… and Ore wasn’t stupid.

Luckily that’s not what the man seemed focused at, at the moment.

“You’ll take it off for me soon enough,” the man snorted and closed in on the young hero. He pushed Robin against a wall with an expectant leer, then he grabbed the hair on the back of the teen’s head. Robin knew that the man was about to kiss him, and that didn’t sit well with him. He’d honestly rather suck him off, but kissing? No. He didn’t want that. Somehow, in his mind, only Slade could do that. His pulse started racing while he tried to control himself, trying to reason with his own mind that it was just a kiss. It meant nothing. It was just lips and nothing more. But it didn’t quite work, and as the man pressed closer, Robin felt that now familiar feeling of being trapped again, and his panic rose. Ore noticed nothing of this, however, or simply didn’t care, and his leer widened. “And in the meanwhile, I’m going t-”

Suddenly the man wasn’t there anymore. He had been sent sprawling across the room, and Robin only stared, dumbfounded, before realizing what had happened.

“Slade?!” The man was not looking his best, breathing hard, teeth gritted.

“Stay. Away. From. Him,” the mercenary growled at the stunned giant, and pulled Robin close. “Red X. Come.” Robin was dragged out of the room, although it was very willingly, just too fast for him to really sort his legs out in the shock. He hugged the man very hard with one arm and kept quiet otherwise. Red X was talking more, though.

“It’s not like I don’t appreciate you being back and all, but you couldn’t have waited just a bit longer?” he complained. “I was about to get some really nice dick, and I wouldn’t have let him fuck Robin!”

Slade didn’t appear to be listening. They were shoved ahead of the man and through the door to their cell a moment later and, as the door closed, Robin finally thought he could speak.

“Thank god you’re back, Slade, I-” he didn’t get any further before there was a thud behind him. The teens turned. Slade had collapsed down on his knees.

“The fuck?” Red said.

“Help me!” Robin pleaded and grabbed one of the man’s arms. Somehow, they managed to get Slade onto the bottom bunk, without much help from the man, who was looking ashen and clammy.

“The… door…?” Slade asked and Robin checked.

“Locked,” he said and gave a thumbs up to the camera, indicating that he liked that. He hoped the person watching them would understand. And care. And actually not unlock the door out of maliciousness.

“…good.”

“What… what’s wrong?” Robin asked worriedly, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed, hands fluttering over the man’s body, not sure what to do.

“…Antidote… not… great…” Slade grunted with some difficulty, eye closed.

“Yeah, well,” Red X started. “Pull it together! I want to get out of here, you piece of shit!”

“Red, he’s sick!” Robin exclaimed, aghast.

Slade’s mouth quirked, but he didn’t look up.

“Need… rest,” he claimed.

“Of course!” Robin said in a hushed voice. “Are you too hot? Too cold? Do you want some water first?”

“Water…” Slade agreed, and the teen hero rushed to his feet and over to the sink. They didn’t have any mugs, so he simply washed his hands and then cupped them.

“Help him hold his head up,” he snapped at Red, who obeyed. Slade drank greedily and Robin ran back and forth with water several times before the mercenary turned his head away with a grunt.

“Ok, you rest now, ok?” Robin said. “We’ll be right here if you need anything.”

The mercenary grunted again, more like a snort, and seemed to fall asleep instantly.

Robin hovered around, a bit unsure what to do. He decided that the man probably was cold, and pulled the blankets over him.

“Done being a nurse?” Red snorted.

“Why are you such an asshat?” Robin asked. “Aren’t you worried? He might die!”

“Slade? No way!” Red snorted, and then his eyes softened. “Robin, kid, listen… Slade is tough as shit, ok? I’ve seen him recover from all kinds of wounds-”

“But this is poison! The strongest in the world!” Robin objected in a hushed tone.

“Just let him rest, ok?” the thief told him calmingly. “Come on. Let’s get on the top bunk and rest for a bit ourselves… watch some TV.”

“I don’t want to wake him,” Robin objected.

“We’ll keep the sound low. Nothing can wake him now anyway, he’s in one of his healing sleeps, I’ve seen it before. He’ll wake up and he’ll be ready to fuck you again in no time.”

Robin felt his face color. “I just want him to be fine so we can escape!” he hissed.

“Funny, because you seemed worried there for a while. For real,” the redhead drawled. “It was quite cute.”

“Fuck you,” Robin muttered and climbed to the upper bunk to sulk. Red soon followed, though, after turning the TV on, smirking.

“Well, you owe me a fuck,” he claimed. “I never thought I’d get cockblocked by Slade… Why the hell couldn’t he have waited an hour or so?”

“I’m… glad he came,” Robin mumbled, and the thief looked at him, closely.

“You… weren’t doing well? I swear I would have distracted him! He wouldn’t have done worse than kiss you, maybe have you suck him off!”

“Yeah… well… I… I didn’t… like it.”

“Shit, Rob, I’m sorry!” the teen sounded completely sincere and the hero trusted that he was, so he gave him a small smile.

“It’s… ok… I just got that sense of… panic, again, you know?”

“I really didn’t notice… are you ok?”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m ok,” Robin claimed, and he was. The panic had been fleeting, although overwhelming while it was going on. Now he felt mostly embarrassed and irritated about it. A kiss! It was so stupid! In the spur of the moment he suddenly leaned forwards and kissed Red on the lips.

“Ok…. And what was that for?” the redhead asked, amused but nonplussed.

“Just to prove to myself that I could,” Robin replied, blushing again. “Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s completely fine, trust me,” the thief claimed. “But maybe practice on Slade, so he won’t have my balls?”

Robin chuckled. “Ok.”

They watched TV, talked about this and that, and every now and then Robin jumped down to check on Slade.

“Still sleeping,” he said the fifth time.

“I told you,” Red sighed. “You’re such a mother hen!”

Robin snorted, but didn’t deny it. He was worried. The man was so pale and still. Sometimes he felt hot, sometimes cold to the touch. Robin had no idea what was going on inside him, but he hoped the thief was right.

Eventually the lights dimmed.

“Bed time. Come,” Robin said and jumped down on the floor.

“Um… we’re already in bed?” Red objected.

“It’s gonna get cold soon, it won’t be good for him, we need to make sure he keeps warm!” Robin told him.

“It will get very crowded,” Red pointed out.

“Don’t whine,” the hero snapped and pulled his shirt off. “You can stay up there if you want to, but you’re only getting one blanket.”

“And they claim you’re a hero, blackmailer,” the redhead snorted, but followed suit.

They had to work together to move Slade slightly more towards the middle of the bed so they could, barely, fit on each side of him.

“You can take the side towards the wall, Robin offered. “That way you won’t fall out of bed.”

“I won’t be able to get _away_ , either, if he wakes up in a really bad mood,” the thief pointed out. “I’d rather be on the outside, thanks.”

“Ok… just let me know if you wanna switch later,” Robin said and climbed over the sleeping mercenary. He ended up sprawled half way across him to fit properly. Red also had to throw an am around the man to anchor himself. They arranged the blankets and made themselves as comfortable as they could as the cold swept in.

Robin lay awake for quite a while, listening to the breaths of Slade and Red. He was so happy that the mercenary was back, and so worried at the same time, that his emotions didn’t quite know what to do. Eventually he fell asleep, fitfully, having nightmares of being held down and alone, strangely at the same time.

“What’s this? I’ve gotten a harem?” a voice muttered, waking Robin up.

“Slade! You’re awake! How are you feeling?” the teen asked.

“Like hell… so that’s an improvement,” the mercenary grunted. “Why is the thief here?”

“I… um... he’s… part of the plan, isn’t he?”

“So he told you, huh? Of course. I meant, why is he in my bed? Cuddling me?”

“We were just trying to keep you warm,” Robin snickered at the man’s slightly disgruntled look as he watched the still sleeping redhead.

“So I can push him out of bed?”

“That would be a rather mean thing to do…?” Robin pointed out.

“Ah, well,” Slade said and did it anyway.

“OW! THE HELL?!” Red grunted and got to his feet.

“Oops. Crowded,” Slade claimed innocently.

“Sure. Ass,” The thief muttered and rubbed his backside.

“Well, you know me,” the mercenary chuckled.

Robin felt a pang of something at the familiarity, and frowned. “Are you feeling well enough to face the world outside?” he asked. “Because there might be trouble.”

“I think I might have caused some damage getting someone to take me to you, and then I just remember finding you getting way too familiar with Ore,” Slade suddenly growled. “Did you miss cock that much?”

“Fuck you! He wanted to rape me!” Robin snarled, pushing himself away from the man so he could climb over him and get up from the bed. Slade caught him half way, so he ended up on top of the man instead, glaring down at him.

“Missed me, then?”

“Like the plague,” Robin snorted, but softer.

“Funny you should say that, considering what the world is facing,” Slade said flippantly and then pulled him down for a kiss. Robin pulled back after a moment, violently.

“Morning breath! Really bad!” he claimed and finally got out of bed.

“Well, yours weren’t a picnic either,” Slade shot back.

“You two are so cure I’m getting cavities,” Red X drawled. “What is the plan here…? do we starve to death or do we go out there and get beaten to death?”

“How about,” Slade suggested, “we get out of here?”

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, how about that?


	11. New News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter is slightly shorter than normal, but it was just a good place to quit. It’s only a page shorter, so it shouldn’t be TOO noticeable… 😉

“Very good idea!” Robin muttered after hearing Slade suggesting they should get out. “If just someone would tell me the plan,” he added sullenly.

“Red, I assume you have the tech?” Slade asked, ignoring the moping hero.

“Of course, boss!” the redhead grinned.

“Tech? What tech? How could you smuggle something in here? They basically turned me inside out!” the hero asked, shuddering at the memory.

“You’ll see,” Slade chuckled and moved so he was standing over the two of them. “There, I’m blocking the cameras,” he said.

“Watch and learn,” the thief smirked at Robin, and reached into his mouth.

Robin stepped back, somehow thinking Red was going to make himself throw up something, but after a bit of tinkering there was a click and he pulled out what looked like the roof of his mouth.

“What the actual…?” Robin gasped. “What is that?”

“A hidden compartment… of sorts,” Red said.

“Hiding what?!” Robin was losing his patience, quickly.

“A computer,” Slade said.

“Ah. Ok. Of course. Okay, so you are both mental and I’m just gonna go out there, get raped and killed and get it over with,” Robin snorted. “OW!” he added as Slade cuffed his head.

“Forgetting yourself, bitch?” the man asked, a bit coldly. Robin could see that he was somewhat amused, though, and the strike hadn’t been hard.

The hero had a lot of frustration and anger to take out on the mercenary, and drew a deep breath. Then he caught Red’s eyes, and the teen was staring at him intently and giving him a minute shake of his head in warning. Robin let his breath out, very slowly, and lowered his eyes.

“No, daddy,” he said. “But please explain?” he added, looking up at the man again, pleadingly. “They brought me through several metal detectors, how could he bring in a computer?”

“Because it’s plastic.”

“That’s impossible! Computers need to conduct electricity; plastic doesn’t do that!”

“Not normal plastic, no,” Slade admitted. “This is something new, though. Very secret. You can thank your mentor for it.”

“Batman?!”

“Well, Wayne Industries,” Slade shrugged.

“You stole from-” Robin started but was interrupted.

“BRUCE WAYNE IS BATMAN!?” Red exclaimed.

“Dammit! Slade!” Robin stared daggers at the mercenary, who shrugged again.

“Been quite close to death, I didn’t realize he didn’t know,” he said, as an excuse.

“… should have stayed there…” Robin muttered.

“What was that, bitch?”

“… nothing…” Robin continued to mutter.

“After we get out, I could kill him?” Slade offered, indicating Red X.

“Hey!” the thief yelled, his voice going quite high.

“No!” the hero snapped. “Of course I don’t want him dead!”

“Well, then there’s nothing I can do,” the mercenary said airily.

“You’re Dick Grayson!” Red realized next, and when Robin turned his dagger-filled look on him, he swallowed. “I… I mean… um… I have no idea who you or Bruce are… I mean Batman! I mean… fuck.”

“If you ever tell anyone…” Robin started.

“I won’t! Cross my heart!” he said, making the gesture where the “X” would have been on his uniform.

“If you do, I will send Slade after you,” Robin growled. “Not to kill you. Something worse.”

Red X raised his hands and took a step back.

“You’ll… ‘send me’?” Slade asked, amused.

“I’ll hire you,” Robin snorted.

“Well. That’s different. And acceptable,” Slade nodded.

Robin sighed. He was fighting the strong urge in him to lead. To get people in gear, to get moving. But that wasn’t his role now. He might actually risk getting left behind if he did, according to Red X, and the teen thought he had a bit of a point at least. Slade needed to know that he was still in charge, so the teen had to defer to him. It was even more difficult now, though, with Red X there.

“So… what’s the plan, Sir?” he asked.

“We need to give it a few days. We are being watched too closely now, both by the security and the other inmates. We need to be able to move around without everyone on high alert.”

“So… not too late to go for an Ore-ride?” Red asked hopefully.

Slade snorted. “Unless you get yourself killed or injured. Or locked up with him. Actually, you’d better not.”

“Um… so… there’s something you don’t know,” Robin said. “I… well…”

“What? He fucked you already?”

“No!”

“Then what? You’re in love with him?” Slade asked flatly.

“What the- No!” Robin objected again.

“I am, kinda…” Red mumbled.

“You just love the size of his schlong,” Robin snorted. “Slade, he knows! About you having a way out. Nothing more, and he doesn’t know for sure that Red is involved but… yeah…”

“And may I ask how he found out?” Slade asked silkily.

Robin swallowed.

“He… he was making ultimatums… if you weren’t back at a certain time… he was getting too close. I… it was the only way I could think of to buy myself some time!”

Slade just looked at him for several, very long, seconds. Robin thought that this was it. The man was going to seriously hurt him or, worse, leave him behind. In the end the man just looked away, though.

“All right. That might be a bump in the road, but it might also get him to back off from his claim on Red.”

“…aaaww…” Robin heard the thief sigh, very, very quietly.

The buzzer sounded, announcing breakfast.

“So…” Robin looked up at Slade, his eyes wide. “What… what do we do, daddy?”

“We’ll get breakfast. And then go to work.”

“Boss,” Red X said urgently. “You didn’t see the mob last night; they were like animals! And Ore won’t take any of this sitting down! If we go out there, they will attack!”

Slade snorted. “More and more of last night is coming back to me. Trust me, if half of what I remember is true, they won’t dare. I was not asking where you were nicely.”

“Well… Alright then…” Robin sighed. “Like Red said, you’re the boss. I just hope this doesn’t go wrong. Because then it will go _very_ wrong.”

“In won’t,” Slade said confidently. “Red, put the computer back. Don’t get yourself locked up or killed.”

“I’ll try not to,” Red muttered, and started putting the whole thing back, hidden by Slade’s bulk.

“Robin, if Red _should_ die and he’s close enough to you, you need to rip that thing out of his mouth. It’s our only way out of here. It won’t be easy without him, but maybe not impossible, at least,” the mercenary said.

“Hey, I got the overriding codes memorized!” Red hissed. “I’m not useless!”

“What are they?” Slade asked.

Red told him a surprisingly long string of numbers and letters.

“Ok,” the mercenary said, “Now I know them too.”

“But-”

“Don’t worry, thief, I still need you. You’re very good at this sort of tech, and I might be of more use fighting.”

“Are you saying I’m the brains of this operation?” the red head grinned.

“If you answer yes, I want out,” Robin piped up.

Slade scoffed and tried the door. It was locked but clicked open almost immediately. “Ready?” he asked.

“Well, we’ll be behind you and we’re counting on you to not move out of the way,” Red muttered.

“Ready,” Robin nodded, having put on his mask and tried to muster his courage. He wasn’t a coward, of course, but he was a realist, and he didn’t like the odds of running into a horde of angry, crazed criminals.

The hallways were empty, but when they got to the cafeteria, even though it was early, everyone seemed to be there, already seated, many watching the door as they walked in. The room fell deadly silent. Ore stood up.

“Deathstroke. I have a bone to pick with you.”

“I’d imagine so. I am told I acted rather… uncivilized, last night.” Slade’s voice was calm and surprisingly reasonable. Robin looked around and now noticed that it seemed that bruises were in high fashion. A few people, some of the more eager fighters, looked even worse for wear, one or maybe two even missing. They all stared at Slade, not aggressively, Robin noted in surprise, but in fear. The man really must have made an impact last night.

“Quite. My bitch-”

“I was crazed after isolation. I recognized the boy and brought him with me. I don’t appreciate that you had your hands on my bitch, though,” he said sharply, but then held up his hands. “But… He has told me nothing happened, and I’m willing to let it go. And we have other things to discuss. But later. After dinner. I want a few meals in me, there’s work, then I am in dire need of a shower and,” Slade pulled Robin close. “A good fuck. Then we’ll talk. I’m sure you’re eager to discuss _certain_ things.”

The giant man seemed to mull this over and then nodded sharply. “Deal.”

“Good.”

The room started breathing again, if a little carefully.

They got their food and Red whispered.

“Am I supposed to go over to him, or what?” he asked.

“Stay with us unless he calls for you,” Slade decided. “It’s important that he doesn’t know that you are important to the plan. I’m going to tell him that you smuggled something in for me, and that’s it.”

“Got it,” the redhead nodded. “Just one thing… you’ll hang a sock or something o the door later, right? You talking about doing the nasty with Robin, I mean…”

“Why? There’s a top bunk, isn’t there?” Slade smirked. “Or you could join.”

“There will be a sock. I’ll steal the damn sock at work to make sure there’s a sock!” Robin hissed, making the man chuckle. 

After breakfast they went back to the cell as usual, to brush their teeth and such. As soon as they were done, Slade pulled Robin in for a kiss again.

“Better?” he asked as they parted.

“Well, no morning breath at least” Robin said haughtily.

“Watch it. I could decide that I want a blow job, and I doubt I’m very fresh down there.”

“The kiss was amazing, daddy, more please?” the hero said hurriedly. Slade snorted and ruffled his hair roughly, somewhere between a caress and a slap. Robin grinned and accepted it, promising himself to be a little bit nicer in the near future, so the man wouldn’t feel forced to put his foot down.

“Are you two love birds going to stop being cute any time soon? I actually can’t wait for work if this is going to go on…” Red drawled.

“Jealous?” Both Robin and Slade said at once, then looking in surprise at each other.

“Ok, that’s it, I’m out of here,” Red groaned.

“I… I think it’s about time for work, yeah…” Robin said, blushing, and hurried after the thief. He could hear Slade chuckling behind him.

“No, I don’t!” Robin hissed at Red’s accusation. “Of course, I don’t! He’s my enemy! He raped me!”

They were at the same station again, sorting laundry.

“Well, I see what I see. I mean, Stockholm syndrome is real, right? Isn’t that about sympathizing with your captors?”

“I don’t sympathize with the prison,” Robin snorted.

“Yeah, no, but you know what I mean, don’t deny it! Do you feel that it’s right for Slade to be locked up in here?”

“No, of course not, this place is inhuman!” Robin snorted.

“So, if you imagine him in a normal prison, you’ll get all warm and happy feelings, then?” Red asked shrewdly.

“I… Well… I… Yes! Because he’s a villain and he has committed crimes and-”

“And you like him.”

“Yes, and I l- No! I told you I don’t! Not like that!”

“Oh, so in some other way?”

“No!”

“Not at all, then?”

“No!”

“But you don’t want to see him locked up?”

“… shut up…” Robin muttered.

“I still say you like him,” Red grinned and started whistling a happy little tune.

People stayed away from them during the day, and after dinner Slade stood up from the table and looked down at Red and Robin.

“Go to the cell. I’m going to speak to Ore alone.”

“Are you sure?” Robin asked.

Slade gave him something between a smile and a smirk. “As much as your protection would mean… yes. Go. And stay in the cell.”

Robin muttered angrily to himself as they left, while Red was snickering madly.

The wait was nervous, for both of them, but not terribly long. The pleased look on Slade’s face when he came into the cell told Robin that things had went well, but he wanted the details.

“Daddy?” he asked.

“I told him I’m waiting for one more thing to be smuggled in to me within the week. I also said that Red will have to be able to move, not hobble, so I’d appreciate if he wouldn’t fuck him, but I wouldn’t stand in the way.”

“Aw…” Red said sadly again.

“He wanted me to send you over, but-” Slade said and raised his hand as the thief was already heading for the door. “then he said something I had to correct him about. Did you really manage to convince him that you were practically virginal?”

“Um… well… maybe… a bit inexperienced?” the thief mumbled.

“Well, after I told him that you had seen more dick than a well-used urinal, he wasn’t interested anymore.”

“Dammit, Slade!” Red objected. “ _You_ of all people being a cock blocker?!”

“Well, I just didn’t want to let you deceive the poor man into bed,” the mercenary smirked, and it was Robin’s turn to snicker. “But, honestly, he’s stupid. If he wants to deep dick someone, I’m sure you’re the slut for the job.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as a complement or not,” Red muttered.

“I wouldn’t,” Robin snorted.

“Which settles it. Thanks, Slade!” the other young man grinned. “So, what do we do now?”

“Right this minute? Work out. And then I want that shower. Badly,” the man said.

“And when do we escape?” Robin asked.

“In about two days. Like I said, I need eyes to be turned elsewhere when we make our move. Luckily, it usually doesn’t take long for other drama to occur in this place.”

“And Ore?”

“He’s staying here.”

Robin nodded. He was okay with that. Even if he had really liked the guy, which he didn’t, especially after last night, it was important not to risk the plan. Besides, Ore would benefit from it as well, as there was no way in hell Robin would let this place continue existing once he was out of here.

“Oh, you never told us about the mission! Did it go well? What went wrong with the antidote?”

“She’s safe and sound in the U.S. Well. She’s... sound, at least. I have a feeling our government has questions for her. About the antidote… well, it partly worked, I guess… but if I had been fully human I would have been dead.”

“And what was outside life like?” Red X asked longingly.

“Did you have that pizza?” Robin chimed in jokingly.

“Pizza was great, hookers were mediocre, seeing the sky was fantastic,” Slade let them know.

“Hookers?” Robin heard himself say in a hurt voice. He couldn’t stop it; the word had just caused him pain.

“Aw, don’t worry, I thought of you the whole time,” Slade leered.

“Sure you did,” the teen grunted. “Are we going to work out or not?” he added, as he suddenly wanted to hit something.

He got to hit Slade, or at least try, and it put him in a much better mood, especially as the man praised him now and again. He noticed that Red tried to get Ore’s attention with no luck, and almost felt a bit bad for the guy. Then he remembered that Red was only interested because of one thing, and decided not to break out the ice cream quite yet.

“Time to hit that shower,” Slade announced after an hour. Robin agreed, it was. It felt like half of him had turned into liquid and was currently running down his back. The water felt great and even the bland all-in-one liquid soap smelled good to him. Slade washed himself and Robin wondered why he wasn’t ordered to help. Not that he was complaining, but it was a bit odd. Maybe the man really felt filthy and didn’t want him near? A bit of sweat didn’t bother either of them, but Slade had been a bit funky, to be honest. Although it seemed to have bothered Red more, who had commented on it when the man had been well out of earshot. Or… as the man had practically kept his hands to himself since he came back… maybe those whores he had been talking about hadn’t been so bad after all? Maybe now, when they were so close to freedom, Slade didn’t feel any need for him? Why would he, the man could have anyone he wanted, after all, and-

“Oh!” Robin gasped in a rather un-cool way as he was suddenly pulled back against Slade’s naked body.

“You were quite distracted…” the man told him. “I’m insulted, I would have thought that you had missed me.” His hand was slowly sliding around the teen’s hip, and by the time it had reached the groin, Robin was already half hard.

“No… comment…” the teen gasped.

“This is saying plenty,” the man purred as his hand closed around the teen’s length.

“Slade, not… not here!” Robin begged quietly, hoping no one would have noticed yet. Red had struck up a conversation with someone on the other side of the room, at least.

“We’ll go back to the cell. I’ll tell Red he’s not welcome for half an hour or so,” Slade chuckled.

“Okay,” Robin agreed, sounding more eager than he wanted to.

Then the sound of the buzzer sounded, which meant they had fifteen minutes before lock down.

“Dammit,” Slade grunted and stepped away from Robin.

“Red can’t sleep with someone else?” Robin heard himself ask.

The man gave him a grin, but then shook his head. “I want to keep him close.”

Robin nodded, feeling a bit defeated. He had wanted this more than he wanted to admit. He was still angry with the man, the questions he had for him about how he had known about his situation were still burning, but he knew he couldn’t ask them yet. They would have to wait, and in the mean while… why not enjoy himself? In a way, he figured, he was using Slade, and it was only fair.

He quickly wound a towel around himself, hiding the last remains of the hard-on, and they all grabbed fresh clothes and headed to their cell. They watched some news and Slade told them about the situation out there in the real world.

“Many countries, including our own, aren’t doing enough. It’s not going to be pretty. We’ve already had our first cases,” he said.

“This is going to interfere with my vacation-plans isn’t it?” Red complained.

“You might have to vacation very locally,” Slade snorted. “And about our plans… this might be both a blessing and a curse. Facemasks are on the rise, and that’s good. Hiding our identities in plain sight. On the other hand, if people are self-isolating, fewer people will be out and about, which means it won’t be easy to blend in.”

“Will it be difficult to get to Gotham?” Robin asked, and got a look that made him regret that question.

“Firstly, we have no idea how far it is, secondly, you’re not going.”

The teen wanted to snarl that the man couldn’t stop him, but didn’t dare.

“What… what do you mean?” he asked instead.

“You’d get caught. You have no idea how to survive out there while hiding from the government. We’ll be hunted,” Slade explained, “and you don’t know how to get a fake I.D, you don’t have any contacts and you probably don’t even know how to steal a car.”

Red X snorted at the last part, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Robin wanted to object, but it wasn’t easy, as the man was right.

“If I can just get in touch with the Justice League…” he tried.

“Yes, I’m sure walking up to someone wearing orange scrubs and asking to borrow their phone will work great… if you even speak the language… or if there is anyone around. Like we’ve said before; this might be Antarctica.”

“You think it is?” Red asked. “Because then we’re dead…”

“No. You can’t just pop over to Antarctica any time you want, all year around,” the man snorted. “It has to be in a more accessible place. But it could be worse: it could be a small rural midwestern town.”

“… yes… that sounds… terrible…?” Robin said, sarcastically.

“A place where everyone knows everyone else and knows what cars they drive and look out for each other? Where there is some suspicion towards strangers? Worst place ever,” the man snorted, and the thief shivered.

Robin burst out laughing but then shrugged and nodded. “Ok, ok, I get it. My best chance is sticking around with you hooligans. Alright. I will.”

“Hooligans?” Slade commented, but the teen could see that he was pleased. He glanced over at Red who gave him a minute nod of approval.

When they were about to go to bed, a debate broke out.

“It’s not like you’ll freeze,” Red told Slade. “So, I say Robin and I should share a bed. It gets damn cold!”

“In your dreams,” the man snorted.

“Then I should get two blankets!” the thief bargained. “You two can keep each other warm with just one.”

“Robin is a blanket hogger,” Slade claimed in a fake sad voice.

“Am not!” the hero objected. “I… guess we could all share again? It won’t be so crowded as last night, because Slade was sleeping on his back then and he usually sleeps on his side, so…?”

“All I care about is staying warm, I hate freezing,” Red muttered. Robin could sense that there was experience behind those words, but didn’t comment. He only gave the other teen a sympathetic smile.

“Then that’s settled.”

“Slade isn’t allowed to push me out of bed!” the redhead suddenly demanded.

“Slade isn’t allowed to push you out of bed,” Robin confirmed.

“Slade is allowed to do whatever the fuck he wants,” the adult in the group snorted. “And right now, I’m going to bed.”

They all were, and Robin ended up on the inside again, facing the wall, with Slade spooning him as usual. He heard Red happily comment that there actually was a bit more room for him because of this, and then they all settled.

Robin lay there with the man’s arm around him, feeling quite… content. He remembered the worry from last night, and how nice it felt for that to have dissipated. He knew he should be very worried about the immediate future, as whatever the plan was, it couldn’t be risk free, after all. He might not even be alive in a few days but, somehow, right now, he felt strangely safe.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: not sure how many chapters there’s left, but the story is wrapping up, at least. Which kind of ending do you want?


	12. New Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here we go! Things will happen, things will be revealed, but not all things, and… yeah… Hold our thumbs (Swedish thing) and cross your fingers for our boys…
> 
> Oh, and this is like 12 hours early, it’s only Wednesday here still BUT, I’m getting up early tomorrow and I’ll be too tired, so… yeah. Happy Wednesday!

Robin didn’t know what time it was when he woke up, but he knew why he had woken up; he was feeling very, very good, and something was pressing against his ass. He pushed back with a moan.

“Careful there,” a mirthful voice whispered in his ear, “you’re going to wake Red up.”

That, instead, woke Robin up fully, and he froze.

“Slade, no!” he barely more than mouthed.

“Listen to him, he’s snoring, he won’t notice,” the man promised, and the teen felt him push down the back of his underwear. The pressure then came back, hotter and slicker this time.

“…But…”

“We’ll be quiet,” Slade said, and there was a finality to his voice, like the discussion was over. He softened the blow, however, by starting to caress the teen’s already straining length.

Robin was pent up. Really pent up. He needed this, and he needed something inside him. Right now. He pushed back until he was suddenly entered. He stifled the moan this time, and just enjoyed the feeling of being filled.

It was definitely the strangest fuck they had ever had. Slade either moved very, very slowly with long strokes or with very short, slightly quicker strokes. The teen really enjoyed when the man pushed only the head of his cock in and pulled out again. It stretched him until it burned, but the sensations that shot up his spine drowned any discomfort out. They started moving just a bit quicker. Neither of them noticed that Red had stopped snoring a while back.

“Why do you do it?”

It was two days later. Slade had deemed that things started to settle down enough so they could soon make their move, but for now he was keeping his façade up, playing poker with the other guys. Red and Robin were sitting on a couch, alone, huddled over one of the tablets, playing a puzzle game. Red was the one who had just asked the question, in a hushed tone.

“Huh?” Robin asked. “Do what?”

“Letting Slade fuck you.”

The mercenary had been as lecherous as usual, if not more, and Red had found himself in the hallway, being persona non grata, a few times already. Despite Slade joking about it he had never invited the teen to join them, something Robin was grateful for. He liked Red, but he didn’t want to go that far with him. So far, the thief had only teased them about their actions, telling them to get a room or get married already. This time he sounded more serious, though.

“I’m not sure how much ‘letting’, is involved,” Robin pointed out, a bit bitterly. “Do you think I can say no?”

“Maybe not in the beginning, but now? Probably?”

“Really?” Robin blinked.

“You could try?”

“Why would I?” the hero asked irritably. “I enjoy it. Besides…”

“Besides what?”

“I… I don’t want to know. If I actually don’t _have_ a choice… I don’t want to know.”

Red hummed empathetically. “It… doesn’t seem wrong to you, though? Being a hero and all?”

“Not many things right about this place,” Robin snorted.

“You think it will change once we get out?”

“Of course it will! I don’t care what Slade seems to think, I’m not going to stay with him! I will need his help in the beginning, yes, but as soon as I can safely contact Batman, I will!”

“I’m not sure he’s going to let you go that easily,” Red said. “He basically won the jackpot when you were sent here, he’s not going to want to give that up.”

“And why not? It’s not like I’m going to help him, like you, and going to a lot of trouble just to keep someone around to fuck? Why? I really don’t get why he doesn’t just hook up with you,” the teen added, though it somehow didn’t sit right with him.

“Well, neither do I, really, but I guess Slade is like Ore in that regard… he doesn’t want anything if it comes too easily,” the redhead grinned and shrugged.

“Will you… help me? I mean… when it’s time? If I need to?”

Red X hesitated. “Kid… I mean… I won’t _tell_ on you, but I can’t really be involved much either… He won’t pay up the rest of the money until we’re scot free, and he’s my boss, at least on occasion… I kinda want to stay on his good side… the opposite would be… not good,” Red, words again failing him, shuddered visibly.

“Ok… I mean, that’s a bit shitty, but you’re not a hero, so I can’t really expect morals to be your thing,” Robin said, with a grin to soften his words.

“Aw, that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me,” the thief smirked.

There was an outburst of sorts from the poker table and Slade stood up, looking pleased with himself. It seemed he had knocked the other players out with a surprisingly good hand, and now he was coming over to them.

“Ready to head back to the cell?” he asked them, surprisingly early, as it was still hours until lock-down.

“Yup,” Robin said. He didn’t like it much in the common room, but he also got quite antsy in the cell.

“Depends. Should I give you guys a head start?” Red asked, apparently suspecting he’d be made to wait out in the hallway again.

“Not tonight. I’m tired,” Slade told them, and they both instantly knew that that was bullshit.

Robin’s heart started to beat a little faster. Was this it? Were they about to start the plan? Whatever that fucking plan _was_ … There was something else he had been thinking about for the longest time as well, something that didn’t make sense to him… or something else that didn’t make sense to him, he should say, as he was being kept well out of the loop.

Trying to act normally, they followed the man back to the cell. As soon as the door closed, however, they were both all questions.

“Tonight?” Red asked.

“No,” Slade answered. “Now.”

“Now?!” Robin exclaimed. “You need to fill me in on the plan first, or I might make a mistake!”

“Of course,” Slade told him.

“First I have a question, though,” Robin said. “It’s been in the back of my mind for a while and,”

“Robin,” Red X said warningly but the hero just waved for him to be quiet. This wasn’t about how Slade had known about his arrest, it was about something else.

“You got that message in the med capsule, right? So how can you not know where we are? Whoever sent that must know, right?”

“My contact works here,” Slade answered.

“Exactly!”

“And she has no idea.”

“…What…? How…?”

“They transport the staff here, like they did us. They stay on site for six months at a time. I have to add that their accommodations are much nicer than ours, though,” Slade answered. “But they have no idea either. I’m sure they have a better idea than we do, as they can see outside, but obviously there’s no very distinguishable features to be seen… I had the opportunity to question a former employee here before arriving.”

Robin was now frowning deeply. “What do you mean? How…? You didn’t know you were going here!”

Red X coughed, loudly, clearly trying to tell him to shut up, but the teen couldn’t just pretend not to understand what this might mean.

“You can ask questions later,” Slade smirked down at him. “It’s… an interesting story.”

The teen took a deep breath, but was thankful for the way out. This was not the time to blow up at Slade. It was slightly cleverer to do that on the outside.

“Fine. So. Getting out? How?”

“In all cells there’s a maintenance panel behind a piece of metal, you can see it by the door,” Slade said. “But look subtly. They can’t hear us, but they can see us, so what we do from now on needs to look inconspicuous, ok? Red, throw yourself on the bed like you’re tired, Robin, come here,” Slade told him, pulled the hero close and kissed him.

Robin, who hadn’t been prepared for the kiss at all, gasped for air when they parted.

“Ah… oh... okay. Wait? So can’t anyone get to it? At least those of you who are strong enough?”

“Yes, basically. If you know what it is and have something to bend it up with,” Slade said and showed him something he had in his hand, almost the same size of his palm; a piece of metal.

“Ok, so… why aren’t people messing with that?”

“Because behind it there’s another security feature. Something that requires an overriding code or you are either dead or at least in immense amounts of pain,” Slade said.

“Ok, one more question,” Robin said as the man grabbed his ass.

“Hmm?”

“What’s with all the kissing lately? Yesterday? Now?”

“Well, firstly one takes what one can get,” Slade smirked, “But more importantly… because you didn’t like it at first.”

That, of course, rubbed Robin the wrong way. “Excuse me?”

“You enjoy it very much now, though. I can tell. Hence… victory for me.”

“Oh, so main reason is because it makes you smug?” Robin drawled.

“I think I do _most_ things for that very reason,” Slade smirked back.

As they were talking, the man was groping him and periodically kissing him, especially his neck, to make it look like it was just another make out session going on.

“So… ok,” Robin, who had decided to drop the issue and focus on the more important present instead, “open the hatch, you have the codes… then what? The computer?” He was trying to stay focused while his body kept screaming that it was play time.

“Exactly. It contains a form of virus which will wreak havoc on all the automated systems. The alarms, the sedation systems and… the doors.”

“Ooohhh…” Robin said. “But… they will see us do it? And see us leave? Or will it take care of the cameras as well?”

“The cameras are unfortunately a separate system. They will see us leave, but that’s hopefully it… and they will be quite busy, considering that I am going to open _all_ the doors… and also have the arrows point to the nearest exit. Soon all sections of the jail will, hopefully, run for it.”

“And they won’t care that we open the hatch?” Robin asked.

“Yes, that’s why we need to make sure they won’t see it.” Slade was pushing him up against the wall of the hatch now. “Take the metal. Just work it into the crack-”

“Shouldn’t you be doing that? You’re the expert in that department…” Red said dryly from the bed.

“You’re lucky you’re needed,” Slade snorted. “Like I said, work it in and leave it. I’m going to force it open from there on.”

Robin took the piece of metal Slade subtly slid into his hand, but felt stumped. He couldn’t figure out how to do this without it looking suspicious to whoever was watching. Slade had the answer, however, and he was roughly pushed on his knees.

“Ow,” he muttered.

“Just making it look good,” Slade said, which was actually very close to an apology.

Robin grumbled and pretended to start tending to the man, while Slade positioned himself so he would block the cameras. Robin found the metal cover and quickly pushed the shard in.

“There,” he said.

Slade bent slightly, pretending to grab Robin’s head to really fuck his throat. As he did, he used the shard to pry one corner of the metal cover up. The shard fell, and Robin caught it, just in case it was needed again.

“That will be enough for me to grip, but now things get tricky, because now we need Red,” Slade said.

“Just tell me what to do,” the thief snorted.

“Saunter over here and kiss me,” Slade told him.

Robin looked up at the man like he had gone crazy, and Slade continued. “I need Red down there too. To use the override code,” he clarified. “When he gets down, I’ll bend over again to pull you to your feet. When I do, I’ll rip the cover off.”

They did as Slade instructed, although Robin thought that the kiss between the mercenary and the thief lasted a bit too long. Red was then introduced to the floor as brutally as Robin had been. The hero heard the metal give away. The hatch was quite small, the sides not quite as long as his hand, but before he was pulled on his feet, he glimpsed the keypad from hell inside. Full of tiny numbers and letters, all jumbled up.

“Oh, great, this will take a while,” Red, who was now pretending to pleasure Slade, grunted, while Robin’s neck was being kissed.

“Read them all off before you press them, wait for my ok,” Slade told him.

“Ok. Five.”

“Yes.”

“H.”

“Yes.”

“Four hundred and forty-seven.”

“Yes.”

It went on like that for a while until…

“A-G”

“No! Stop. It’s A-J.”

“What? No?” Red said and then mumbled the long code to himself. “Yes… no… wait… I…”

“That’s what you told me.”

“What if I told the wrong thing?” Red objected.

“You’ll most likely die,” Slade told him harshly. “Punch in A-J. Now.”

Robin closed his eyes and held his breath, and then Red exhaled.

“We’re fine. Fifty-two.”

“Yes.”

A moment later something clicked.

“We’re in,” Red said, tensely. “Now to see if my little mouth computer works.”

“Get down there and help cover Red’s movements up,” Slade told Robin, who sank to his knees immediately, mainly because he wanted to see this. “And hurry up, not even _I_ have all the stamina in the world,” the man grunted. “Sooner or later whoever is watching is going to stop being impressed and start getting suspicious.” 

“See, you should have had practiced with me before,” Red told him from the floor. “Would have made this look less suspect too.”

“Because you can’t make him come?” Robin snickered.

“Ah-ha. Ha. Ha. Ha,” the other teen drawled. “It’s not too late to leave this sassy kid behind, Slade,” he told the mercenary.

“No, but you might still be useful,” the man answered calmly.

“Ouch,” the thief muttered, although he was fully focused on his task by now.

“We’re in. The virus should be transmitting. They will try to override it, but unless they are very good, we should have enough time to get out.”

At that point loud alarms started to blare.

“Fuck!” Robin yelled out of frustration and fear. Had everything failed?

“Don’t worry, this is part of it,” Slade shouted to him. “The staff here are ordered to evacuate if they hear this alarm, before they can figure out it’s fake, we have some more time.

“I put the hatch back, hopefully they won’t realize this was done by us,” Red said.

“Alright. Let’s go. Stay close to me. I will leave you behind if you don’t keep up. Both of you,” Slade barked. 

The hallways looked completely different, as every door now was open. There were arrows in the floor pointing out the directions, but Slade led them another way. “The arrows lead to where the inmates might cause the most havoc,” he quickly explained when Robin pointed out that they had taken the wrong turn. “We’re going to a maintenance entrance. Hopefully it won’t be that well defended.”

There was already chaos, and Robin saw inmates he had never seen before, from the other sections of the prison. Some looked like they had just woken up and didn’t quite know what to do. They hadn’t gotten far before they heard the first gun shot.

The sound had the opposite effect on the prisoners than Robin would have expected; they started moving towards the sound. He then understood why: it was a chance to get a weapon. Or get your hands on a guard. For some of these people, it would be equally rewarding. He also realized that if all doors were open, the guards wouldn’t be safe anywhere. This was innocent people, after all, just doing their job. The warden had been nasty, but the hero couldn’t imagine that the guards were all bad people, and they surely didn’t deserve what these people would do to them.

“Robin, keep up!” Slade ordered.

The hallways were now pretty abandoned, and they were heading away from most of the noise. Suddenly, as they rounded a corner, however, there was a guard, with a gun pointing directly at them.

Robin didn’t think, he just reacted. He still had the metal shard in his hand and he let it fly. It buried itself in the man’s hand. The man yelled and dropped the weapon. Red and Slade rushed forwards. Red knocked the man out and Slade swept up the gun. The man then aimed at the unconscious guard’s head.

“Slade, no!” Robin yelled.

The mercenary hesitated and then shrugged. “As he’s down, I guess it would be a waste of a bullet,” he agreed.

“Got phone, keys, ID-badge, mace, taser,” Red reported happily.

“Good,” Slade said and they were off again. “Give Robin one of the defensive gadgets,” he ordered, and Red slipped him the taser.

“I can use the maze from further away,” the redhead grinned.

They reached a stairwell, and it felt like they were climbing forever.

“We were underground?” The hero half concluded half asked. It made sense, though, as there were no windows anywhere.

“Seems that way,” Red agreed.

There was another block of cells up here, but that was abandoned too. They passed a hallway that had a body in it, a body so mangled it could basically be defined as simply ‘meat’. Robin didn’t want to look too closely.

Finally, they reached a vast, strange kitchen, and then-

“I smell fresh air!” Robin gasped. And there it was. An open door. To the outside. It was the delivery entrance, and, beyond the outdoor light, was darkness.

“Come,” Slade ordered, and they were about to step into fresh air when there was a voice behind them

“Leaving without me?”

They turned around. Slade hadn’t raised his gun, possibly because they knew the voice and it didn’t sound aggressive. There was just one problem, Ore was holding a gun.

“Move and I’ll shoot the kid in the head,” Ore said, aiming for Robin. “Come here, little hero.”

“What are you doing, Ore, just run away!” Robin exclaimed, taking slow steps towards the man, to placate him.

“I will. But you’ll come with me. Deathstroke has the redheaded slut. You’re the one I want.”

“This is hurtful…” Robin heard Red mutter.

“Okay… Okay… I mean, as long as we’ll get out, ok?” Robin said calmingly. “Maybe let Slade and Red run first? See if it safe? Draw the fire if it isn’t?”

!You just want to save them!” Ore growled, the madness that Robin had sensed inside him from time to time now shining brightly in his eyes.

“Red, yes. He’s a friend,” Robin agreed. “Slade, not so much, but what I don’t want, is a gunshot out here. People will hear. I don’t want to be caught.”

“Just come here now,” the giant said impatiently. Robin did, then said a small prayer to whatever deities might exist, and jammed the taser into the man. He aimed for the arm that was holding the gun, and luckily, as the man convulsed, he dropped it.

Then Slade was suddenly there, and before Robin had had time to object, Ore’s neck was at an odd angle, bulging eyes staring emptily into nothing.

“I didn’t want to risk him coming after us,” Slade told him, as he was warning him not to complain. “But at least I agree with you; I’d rather avoid a gunshot as well.”

“So that’s why you didn’t shoot him?”

“Yes.”

“Not to… save me?” Robin fished.

“No, I’m faster than he is,”

“Well, _now_ , for sure,” the thief joked. “Come on, people, why are we sticking around here?”

They slunk out. They could see the road leading away from the prison, but that, of course, led up to a check point, where there was a lot of movement at the moment. Instead Slade set off in the other direction, over a huge, dark lawn.

Robin could see floodlights and huge spotlights mounted on guard towers surrounding the grounds, but none of them were on. Either the virus had hit them too, or, possibly, no one was quite realizing what was happening yet, or thinking anyone was outside. Either way, they reached the tall, razor wire adorned wall, at least three- or four-times Slade’s height. It had electrical wires as well, one of which Slade touched.

“Off. Good. Robin, time to fly.”

The teen saw Slade cup his hands and understood what the man meant. He didn’t hesitate, just leaped into that stirrup and felt the man use all his strength to boost him upwards. He really did fly, and was able to clear the wall and land safely on the other side, rolling to cushion his fall. He then moved out of the way while looking around. It was unkempt ground here, tall grass and a few scraggly bushes. Not much to hide behind, but something. He squatted down so he wouldn’t stand out. A moment later, Red came sailing through the air, landing as gracefully as Robin had.

Then there was suddenly gunfire on the other side of the wall, and yells. Slade pulled himself on top of the wall, clumsily and with the razor wire cutting long gashes into his skin. His side was covered in blood.

“You’re shot?!” Robin exclaimed.

“Go. Straight into the forest,” the man grunted down at them and then raised his gun, pointing it down back at the presumed guards that were shooting at him.

“He’s armed!” Robin heard someone yell, but after three quick shots there were no more voices heard. The hero and Red had already started moving by now, and soon Slade managed to catch up with them.

“Head north,” Slade told them through gritted teeth, indicating a direction. Robin had no idea how he knew that was north, but didn’t question that part. He had to ask, however…

“Why north?”

“See the low clouds over there?” Slade nodded, and Robin could, barely, through the now looming trees.

“Yeah?”

“They are lit from underneath. There’s a city or large town over there. We need transport and we need to figure out exactly where we are. Red, is that phone working?”

“Seems to be, but it has no GPS what so ever. I tried to figure out where we are, but I can’t.”

“Worth the try. Call this number,” Slade said and rattled off a rather long phone number.

“It’s ringing,” the thief let them know a moment later, and handed the man the phone, still running.

Slade took it, waited a split second and then started speaking a language Robin didn’t know.

As soon as he was done, he crushed the phone in his hand and threw it away. Robin wanted to cry, as it had been a chance to get in touch with Bruce, but maybe the phone could be tracked some other way than by GPS, and that, of course, wasn’t worth the risk.

They continued in relative silence from then on, and were soon in a rather dense forest, and it got impossibly darker. Slade seemed to be able to see well enough to, even injured, run at a pretty decent speed, but both Robin and Red stumbled more than ran.

“Slade, stop!” Robin panted after half an hour.

“Can’t… breathe…” Red gasped.

They were both drenched in sweat. Running on the streets, or rooftops, of a city, was nothing compared to a forest floor.

“We need to keep on moving. They might be too busy to send dogs after us right now, but eventually they will.”

“Yes, but… slower? Ok? Until we can fucking see?” the hero snapped, cluing the mercenary in on the fact that not all of them had his heightened senses.

The man just snorted, but set off at a brisk walk instead.

Robin took his mask off, he had never had a chance to take it off in the cell, and had preferred to keep it on as long as they were surrounded by criminals. He finally got somewhat of a chance to enjoy being outside, and enjoy it he did. It was so amazing that he felt tears streaming down his cheeks, and was happy it was dark enough to hide them. The air, the sky, dotted with bright stars, and starting to brighten in the east. The sounds of the forest too, but most of all; the smells. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed the smell of nature and clean air, and to feel the wind on his face. He hadn’t been locked up for that long, but the total isolation from the outside, being denied even windows, and the fear of it lasting for years… well, that made it feel like it _had_ lasted for years. He would never give this up without a fight, and he had a terrifying realization; if someone would step out behind a tree in front of him, and it came to either killing that person or going back… Robin knew what he would choose. He felt disgusted with himself over it, but there was no question in his mind about what he would do. There was no way he was going back. No way in hell.

After about forty-five minutes they reached a road. It was paved, but rather narrow. They followed it, still keeping inside the forest, towards the supposed city. As Robin happened to glance backwards, he spotted light beams cutting through the trees.

“There’s a car coming!” he warned.

Slade reacted quite strangely. He rushed towards a narrow tree, only about as thick as Robin’s arm, and rammed into it with his shoulder. The tree was growing close by the road, in rather sandy soil, and didn’t quite have the strength to withstand that force.

“Spread out, stay low,” Slade ordered as he disappeared into the shadows himself.

Robin understood what was going on, of course, but was worried for whoever was driving that car. It turned out to be a man in his forties, who cursed as he stepped out of his rather nice black Chrysler Voyager. He glared at the tree, sighed, pushed his glasses into place and moved to lift it out of the way.

Robin saw Slade gesturing at him, and he was the closest to the man. He silently asked for forgiveness, but didn’t have a choice. On silent feet he closed in on the guy and his victim never even knew he was there before receiving a hard blow to the back of his head. As they guy crumpled to the ground, Slade rushed over and removed the tree, while he was barking orders at them both.

“Red, get behind the wheel, Robin get the man into the back.”

Slade had to help the hearo with his heavy load, but suddenly they were rolling down the road.

“Keep the speed limit. Look out for cops or roadblocks,” Slade told Red, who nodded. “Robin, strip the man, and look for a phone,” Slade continued, as he went through the glove compartment.

“Here,” Robin said, handing the mercenary the man’s phone.

“It needs his thumb print, unlock it,” Slade said, handing it back.

Luckily the phone didn’t require a code as well, and soon Slade knew exactly where they were, and directed Red to keep driving down small country roads, away from the prison, but keeping low key.

“I really need to undress him?” Robin groaned as he was working on it.

“It’s one set of clothes we might sorely need,” Slade told him. “They seem to fit Red decently. How about a wallet? Any money?”

There was a little bit, as well as a credit card which Slade pocketed. Neither of them could pass as the man, so he left the license behind.

They stopped and dumped the man at the edge of a small road. Slade snorted as Robin insisted on wrapping the stranger in an emergency tin foil blanket, which he had found in a large first aid kit at the back of the car. He had handed Slade the other supplies, but the man had waved them away.

“But aren’t you injured?” Robin asked.

“It’s nothing,” Slade told him. “It’s just pain.”

They then set off again, and Slade made more calls, some in English, some in that other language. At one point he took photos of Robin and Red too, before eventually getting rid of that phone as well. He instructed Red to drive in a different direction, taking off towards a highway that Robin could see in the distance, as the sun started to rise. Slade threw the phone out the window and told the thief to turn around.

“Hopefully the tracking still works and they will think we took the highway,” he explained, when Red complained about having to turn the car away.

“So, where are we going?” Robin asked.

“Not too far. We’re getting picked up by my client.”

“What client?” Robin asked. “What are you talking about?”

Slade turned around slightly in his chair and looked back at him with a grin.

“The client who is the reason I was in that prison in the first place, of course.”

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Tell me more…? So, they are out! Not quite safe yet, though. What client? What is going on…?


	13. New Appearances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Wednesday-posting. I might keep this up, it’s just easier as Thursdays are such long workdays…

“Have you gone mad?!” Robin asked, actually feeling a pang of fear at Slade’s claim that he had been in the prison because of a client. Maybe the man truly _was_ mad? Were they without any plan in that case? “You were in there because the Titans took you down!”

The mercenary chuckled at this.

“Not quite.”

“Slade, maybe now isn’t the time? Maybe later?” Red warned him.

“You know what all this is about?” Robin growled at his new friend.

“Nope, not an effing clue, but I think it’s pretty clear that whatever it is, you’ll go ballistic, and we can’t really afford that right now.”

Robin blinked. He wasn’t sure he wanted to live in a world where the redhead was the adult in the room.

“Fine. I’ll be calm. But tell me,” he urged the mercenary.

“About a year ago, I was approached by my client. They knew about a certain prison, whispers of it at least, and they wanted someone in there dead. They asked if I would be interested in the job. It paid well, extremely well, and it wasn’t exactly boring… so I said yes.”

“So…” Robin groaned, putting the pieces together, “You’re saying you _let_ yourself be taken down?”

“That I did. But you were good. I barely had to act.”

“I’d like to calmly inform you that you are the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever…” Robin growled.

“Now, now, don’t get an attitude, bitch,” the man chuckled. “You might want to save that until you know the full story.”

“I’m not your bitch anymore, not out here, so cut that crap, ‘daddy’,” Robin scoffed. “But sure, by all means, try to piss me off even more, I _dare_ you…”

“For fuck’s sake…” Red X groaned behind the steering wheel.

“I’ll take that dare,” Slade said confidently. “So, I took the job, but there was one problem besides how to get out; they didn’t know what the target looked like or even his name. They just knew he was in there. I had to find him first.”

“And… did you? Was he one of the men you killed?” Robin asked.

“Well, funnily enough… you did.”

“It was Zaid? Why?” Robin asked.

“No, not Zaid. This guy was a danger to my client. A weapon of mass destruction.”

“Aron? Aron Leeds? The human bomb guy?” Robin gaped.

“Yes. My client had gotten word of him, and they really, really, didn’t want him to be used against them in the future. A person with the right papers can go anywhere, after all. He was a huge threat, a much more powerful weapon than my clients were happy with the USA having. They didn’t know any details apart from that, though, and which department in there he was held at. He had a code name that was used, so they could track him that far, but no more. It was my job to find him and kill him. When you arrived, I hadn’t been able to yet, it was not like I could simply ask. Imagine my surprise when you stumbled into him and he spills his beans to you…”

“But you didn’t kill him,” Robin pointed out.

“No, it was perfect, I could simply set him up to be killed. My hands were clean and the security’s focus wouldn’t be on me. That was the plan, anyway… Then his killer ruined it by being an idiot, so I had to snap his neck.”

“Yeah, it’s not like I forgot,” Robin muttered. “And who are your clients? What language were you speaking?”

“Dari. My clients are normally not an organization I’d work with, but I thought they had a point in this case.”

“Dari? That they speak in Afghanistan?” Robin asked. Then he jumped to the next logical conclusion. “You’re working for the _Talibans_!?”

“Well, a self-governed group of war lords,” the man shrugged. “Strongly connected to the Talibans, of course, just less of the religious doctrine.”

“And I thought you were shitty before,” the teen muttered.

“Oh, just you wait…” Slade chuckled. “But do you like the idea of our government having him?”

“… no. No, I guess not,” Robin found himself forced to agree.

“See? And, for your information, if they had asked me to break him free and bring him to them, I would have refused.”

“So, there’s some decency in you?” Robin concluded, with sarcasm lacing his voice.

“Hold on to that thought,” Slade suggested.

“Boss, I really think you should have this conversation later!” Red interrupted again. “And by the way, we’re coming up to a crossing, where next?”

“Straight ahead. There should be a smaller road leading to an old airstrip not too far up the road.”

“We’re flying out of here?” Robin said.

“Most likely, yes.”

“You don’t know?”

“I just know we need to sit tight there, and we’ll be picked up within a few hours,” Slade told him.

“And you trust these people?”

“They are already negotiating another job, they don’t want me dead quite yet,” Slade smirked.

“Do they care about me and Red?” Robin asked.

“No, but I count you as my carry-on,” the mercenary smirked.

They found the place and, by the looks of it, it must be old. It was just a single runway, cracked and overgrown, and one low one-story cement building which was nothing more than a shell. It was clearly only for small aircrafts, possibly used to dust fields. They parked the car behind the building, a little way into the forest, pointing back at the road, in case they would have to leave in a hurry.

Robin and Red, needing to stretch their legs, then carefully explored the area, looking for any signs of recent activity. They found none, however, which was a relief.

They came back to see Slade which his shirt off, wiping at his side where the bloodstain had been. He wasn’t bleeding anymore, but his healed skin was a very angry red, and the size of it spoke of a substantial wound. The man seemed happy with the process, however, and put his shirt on again.

It was chilly in the early morning air, so they got back in the car, Slade in the driving seat this time. Red rummaged around in the glovebox and yelled out in triumph, holding up a candy bar.

“Slade! Why didn’t you say this was here?” he berated the mercenary.

“What? Candy?” the man said dismissively.

“It’s food!”

“Barely.”

“If he doesn’t want to share, I do,” Robin said quickly, and soon he had half of a partly melted candy bar in his hand. It didn’t spend more than a second there, though, before it was in his mouth. He closed his eyes and chewed with relish, moaning softly.

“This… is the best!” he said. “I can’t wait for real food!” he added.

“Agreed!” Red said. “Will your contacts bring food?” he asked Slade, but the man ignored him.

“Where are we, anyway?” Robin said, suddenly realizing he didn’t know. Slade must have told his contacts, but in Dari, and he hadn’t been even close to alert enough when it came to looking at road signs and such.

“In the south-east of Kansas,” Slade told him. “We might be in Missouri now, actually, if only just. I only looked at coordinates.”

“Ok,” the teen nodded. Kansas. Well, it wasn’t the worst in the world, was it? Unless some girl with red shoes and a small dog came by…

Not long afterwards Robin and Red yawned at the same time.

“Get some rest, it might be a few hours more, at least,” Slade told them.

It felt unnatural to try to sleep in the situation they were in, everything in Robin told him to keep running, but he was also rather exhausted by now. He had been up for around twenty-four hours and he had been running for his life for a few of them. He curled up on the back seat, thinking he’d at least take a cat nap. He was out like a light within minutes.

When he woke up the sun was much higher in the sky, and the car was starting to feel too warm. He might have gone back to sleep, though, if it wasn’t for his bladder.

He grunted, sat up, and rubbed his eyes before looking around, nonplussed. He then remembered where he was, and looked around for Slade. He spotted the man standing a little bit away from the car, leaning back against a tree, keeping watch, but looking relaxed. That helped Robin to relax as well, and he looked over at Red, who had put the front seat back as far as it would go, and was snoring softly. Robin quietly climbed out of the car and left his door a bit open to let fresh air in. Slade wasn’t looking his way and the hero was in no mood to chat with the man, especially as his bladder kept reminding him to hurry.

He moved a comfortable distance into the forest and then relieved himself.

He didn’t expect Slade _not_ to notice him leaving, of course, so he wasn’t surprised when the man was waiting for him as he came back.

“What time is it?” Robin asked, as he didn’t quite know what to say.

Slade glanced up at the sun.

“Around eleven in the morning.”

“Ah. No sign of your people yet?”

“No,” Slade replied. “They have a wide network, but we’re out in the sticks here, and they need to monitor all the security measures the government takes too.”

Robin nodded. He had been thinking… he might be angry with the man, but mostly it was hurt pride. He thought he and his team had won, and it turned out they had just been used. And Slade had a pretty good reason to be smug about it… after all, as he had already concluded, smugness was the man’s reason to exist. So maybe Robin should be the bigger man here, and simply get over it?

“So… how are you? That wound looked pretty nasty,” he said.

“The bullet ripped right through my side, it wasn’t fun,” the man shrugged.

“It healed up quick, though?” the hero asked, mainly because he was curious.

“My healing abilities aren’t perfect, but they seem to go into overdrive when something is about to be fatal. Then I heal rather quick, but it takes a lot out of me. Once it heals enough, the process slows, so I’ll still be sore for a bit longer.”

“Oh.”

“You could kiss it and make it better?” the man leered.

Robin blushed. They were out now. He should put his foot down. Boundaries needed to be drawn.

“Maybe you should sleep some,” he said, trying to deflect the invite. “I can stand guard. I’ll wake you as soon as I hear or see anything.”

The man snorted, but it wasn’t all derisive, he seemed pleased about the thoughtfulness, even though he apparently found it unnecessary.

“You should rest more instead,” he said. “Besides, you won’t be able to hear anything over Red’s snoring.”

Robin, who couldn’t hear Red at all from his position, chuckled.

“Nah, I’m good. Pretty used to go on little sleep as a Titan… actually, I think the time in prison was probably the healthiest sleeping schedule I’ve ever had.”

“Pity the food and the company sucked,” Slade chuckled.

“Well, some of the company only sucked sometimes,” Robin grinned.

“I seem to remember you sucking a lot… although not in a bad way,” the man leered. “Are you sure…?”

“Yes. Not interested. I’m tired and hungry.”

“Well, you refuse to sleep and now you don’t want me to feed you, so…?” Slade sighed teasingly. “I’m starting to think I’ll have to be an ass about this.”

“You’re an ass about everything. What’s the new thing to be an ass about?” Robin snorted.

“Well, I could tell you that if you want a ride out of here… you have to pay up?” the man suggested.

“That _would_ be a very ass-y thing to do, yes,” Robin told him flatly.

“You don’t think I deserve a thank you for getting us out of there?”

“Oh, so you want me to thank Red the same way? Because he seemed to be doing most of the work.”

“He was only following my plan.”

“Huh, well… he did it well?”

Robin hadn’t quite noticed how close Slade had gotten, and suddenly he was caught, as the man’s hand grabbed him by the hip.

“Are we going to do this for long?” Slade purred, pulling him close. Robin felt his pulse speed up.

“D-doing what? Getting sexually harassed? Hope not…” he replied cheekily.

“This game… this… dance,” Slade said. “I know you want me, Robin. I can practically smell it. And I told you, didn’t I? That I would make sure you’d be willing? It’s a pity you have too much pride to admit it.”

Robin didn’t know what to object about, the willingness or the pride, so he was left pretty speechless, which made Slade chuckle and continue.

“If I thought you really didn’t want this, I wouldn’t bother. But I know you do. You denying yourself is what infuriates me. On what grounds? Afraid I’ll turn you into an assassin? Not even I would be able to change who you really are, Robin. The ability to kill isn’t an STD.”

Robin snorted. “I know! I’m just… I don’t belong to you. You don’t own me. If I sleep with you, out here, I’m afraid you’ll get the wrong impression.”

“What, you think I’d expect a proposal?” the man asked.

Robin burst out in a short laugh. “More like I expect to be collared.”

“Hmmm…” the man ran a finger over the teen’s throat, with a thoughtful half-smile on his lips. “Not a bad idea…”

“See? That? Right there? That’s what’s pushing me away, Slade! I need to know that, once we’re safe, I’ll be able to call Batman. Go home. Get help to take down the prison.”

“The prison isn’t there anymore.”

“… What?” Robin blinked.

“A top-secret facility that isn’t top secret anymore, due to human ‘leaks’, so to speak, is useless. They have most likely shut down and moved by now.”

“But… the other inmates?”

Slade shrugged. “Not sure it would be a good idea to keep them alive… depends on how many and how valuable. Many might have gotten away. I have a feeling the government might just cut their losses.”

“Dammit!” Robin growled, slamming a fist into Slade’s chest. “Oh. Sorry,” he added awkwardly after realizing what he had done.

Slade, who hadn’t even flinched, just raised an eyebrow, and smirked again. “Two boo-boos to make better,” he claimed. 

Robin snorted. “If you want to fuck, you need to tell me that I’m not your bitch or your prisoner,” he insisted.

“You’re not my bitch,” the man said, and bent down to kiss his neck. “Or my prisoner,” he added, his lips hovering just above the hero’s.

“Oh, what the hell,” Robin sighed, and raised his own lips, just enough.

They did it against the car. They tried to keep the noise down, but the whole car was rocking, which actually added something quite amazing to the rhythm, Robin thought. He had no thought about Red until he was pulling his pants back on a little later, and he heard the snoring stop in a confused snort. The redhead sat up in the car, and looked around, disoriented.

“Oh… hi,” the thief greeted him. He opened the car door, got out, stood up, and then grabbed hold of the car. “Shit…” he said.

“What is it?” Robin asked.

“I don’t know… I feel like… sea sick?”

“Oh… I… um… probably the lack of food and water!” Robin quickly suggested.

“Yeah… probably… dreamed that I was out on a choppy sea in a little boat, though… and there were like seals around? Making noises?”

“Imagine that,” Robin said and quickly ducked into the back seat to hide his red face.

He was regretting the whole thing a little. Or a lot. He couldn’t decide. Maybe he shouldn’t regret it at all? Okay, so he knew there was something else that Slade wasn’t telling him, something that, according to the hints the man had dropped, would make him very angry, but he didn’t want to know about all that quite yet. Red had been right. He needed to put that aside until they were safe, so in the meanwhile…? Why not? It was, after all, easer to deal with Slade when he wasn’t angry or too dominating, so why not keep them both happy for a bit? Within reason, of course. Robin decided to forgive himself for being weak to the man’s advances. For now.

“Is there anything to eat?” Red asked.

“No. Nothing to drink either.”

“We were in a kitchen, I feel we messed up,” the redhead sighed and joined Robin in the backseat. “Slade!” he called out to the man, who had gone back to keeping watch.

“Yes?” Slade answered flatly, obviously not liking being yelled at.

“Can’t you go kill a deer or something?” Red asked.

“Let me get right on that,” the man snorted sarcastically.

“Good man.”

“I wonder what thief tastes like?” the mercenary asked curiously.

“Suck my dick and find out?” the redhead offered, making Robin snicker.

They settled down again to wait, and hours dragged by.

Eventually Robin left the car again to stretch his legs. He wanted to move but he also needed to preserve energy. He was feeling the kind of tiredness that came from exhaustion and hunger. A headache was brewing as well. Red was napping again, as there was nothing much else to do.

He walked up to Slade, who hadn’t moved.

“Slade?” he asked carefully, almost meekly. He didn’t want to piss the man off.

“Yes?” the man’s tone was slightly smore approachable than when he talked to Red, which, the teen figured, was a good sign.

“I just wanted to know… how much longer should we wait? And what is the plan if they don’t show? We’ll need gas soon, and Red and I, at least, need food and water.”

“If they haven’t arrived at midnight, we’ll move out,” Slade said. “We’ll need to find ourselves a phone in that case, but Red is good at pick-pocketing, and we have clothes that might suit him. We also have some cash for at least a meal and some water. We got lucky with that man.”

“Ew.”

“You know what I mean,” the mercenary chuckled.

“Yup… okay, so… about 12 more hours?” Robin asked.

“Hang in there.”

“Will do,” the hero promised, his stomach screaming for food. “Would be nice with some water, though.”

“Sorry, I haven’t found any sources I trust around here. You don’t want to be sick on top of being dehydrated, and we have nothing to cook water in, even if we had some.”

“I know,” the teen sighed. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Hush!” Slade suddenly said, standing up straight and listening intently. “There’s a car. Wake up Red and hide close by, just in case.”

Robin sprang into action and practically dragged a drowsy Red X out from the car. They kept close by, but well hidden, like Slade had ordered. They could see and hear things perfectly, however.

A blue minivan, slightly scuffed and not the newest model, with a canoe strapped to the roof, pulled up. Robin’s heart sank. No way this was ‘their’ people. Out stepped two men, one older around fifty and one who looked to be in his thirties. They had similar features with dark hair and eyes, having Robin suspect that they were related.

They greeted Slade with a few words in Dari and Robin could see the man relax. Well. As relaxed as he would be.

“You can come out,” Slade called to them.

Robin felt a bit foolish when he did, like he had run away and hidden in fear like some child. The men just nodded at them, though, not surprised to see them in the least. The younger one reached into the car and withdrew several paper bags with the well-known golden M printed on them. Red hooted with joy and just barely avoided merely snatching the bags from the man, who grinned.

“We thought you might be hungry,” he said in perfect English, not a hint of a foreign accent, he sounded more like he came from the east coast up by New York somewhere. “We’re sorry for the delay.”

“We started out in a chopper,” the older man said, also without an accent. “But it was impossible, the sky was being watched too carefully and we were tracked. We had to waste time pretending to be businessmen surveying some land. We had the set up for it, of course, but thought we would be able to slip away. No such luck. So here is plan two,” he said, gesturing to the car.

“Which is?” Slade asked. Robin and Red had their mouths too filled with food to be able to do more than grunt.

“Your papers are in here,” the man said. “You’re John Wilson, these are your sons, Michael, seventeen, and James, fifteen, he said, indicating first Red, then Robin.

“Mrghirmgd!” Robin objected.

“Chew. Then talk,” Slade suggested

“I can’t pass for fifteen!” he said after some intensive chewing. The others just looked at him, though, until the teen started to feel silly. “I can?” he added, sounding a bit miserable.

“Well, you’re not that tall and you’re lean,” Red shrugged. “Hey, they made me younger too! It’s not too bad, we’ll appear less threatening as kids.”

Robin just muttered and focused on the food again, especially the large cola that he had almost emptied by now.

“Exactly our plan,” the older stranger told the thief approvingly. “There’s ID’s for everyone, we found pictures matching your new looks.”

“What new looks?” Red asked.

“We’ll get to that. Sir,” the man said, turning back to addressing Slade. “The car is registered to your name, there’s also a gun and ammo in the glove compartment registered to you as well. There’s some background info to use if need be, like you bought the canoe on Craigslist and decided to take a bit of a car trip to pick it up in Wichita. You’re now on your way back to Pittsburgh, where you live. Your sons have a week off from school, and you decided to bring them to bond with them after the divorce of your wife.”

“I come from a broken household?!” Red complained. “I might turn into a criminal!”

“Think that ship has sailed,” Robin droned.

“Oh. Right, sorry,” the redhead shrugged.

“I don’t think you’ll have any problems acting childish,” the older stranger snorted.

“I apologize for him,” Slade sighed. “He has his moments though.”

“Aww, daddy loves me,” Red snickered.

“I have to call you daddy again?!” Robin groaned.

“Well, isn’t that a perk?” Slade smirked. “Now quiet, you two, we want to be on our way soon.”

“There’s a credit card and enough cash for you to be comfortable for the journey. There’s also phones and a couple of changes of clothes and toiletries for each of you. There are roadblocks and impromptu police controls here and there for quite a while, but once you’re in Kentucky I’d say you’re in the clear. There are no controls for the next few miles, and we suggest you take a room at the closest motel to prepare. In the meanwhile, the kids should wear their sunglasses and their hoodies up, and we have a cap and sunglasses for you, sir.”

“Sounds good,” Slade nodded. “I appreciate the work you’ve done.”

“We’re not quite done yet, but we’ll prepare while you eat and change. Then we’ll take your car and make sure to dump it somewhere.”

They were handed bags with clothes, but Robin almost forgot that he was supposed to change when he saw what the men were doing now. The car had been covered in some sort of film that they now peeled away. The blue car was silver underneath. Then they did the same thing to the canoe; it turned form red to yellow, and last they changed the license plates.

“We didn’t want anyone thinking it was weird that they saw the same color canoe on the same colored car in the same day,” the young man explained when he saw Robin gaping.

“Why the canoe at all, though?” the teen asked. “I mean… it’s pretty… noticeable?”

“Exactly. What fugitive in their right mind would steal a car with a canoe on the roof? And keep the canoe? It also gives you a legit reason to be travelling far, it’s not the easiest thing to ship. We picked it up locally, so we haven’t been driving far with it, and we didn’t go through any controls, so we don’t think anyone will be thinking twice about it. We like to err on the side of caution, though. ”

“Heh… ship…” Red snickered.

“You must be tired,” Robin chuckled at him, as the thief kept snickering to himself. “I’m very impressed,” he added to the younger man.

The man smiled and lowered his eyes like he got somewhat embarrassed. “Thank you. We always do our best for our most valued partners,” he said, indicating Slade.

When Robin said he was impressed, part of him wanted to exchange that term for ‘frightened’. Slade had said that these guy’s network was big, but they pulled all this together in about half a day! Without knowing where they would need to drop the things off until Slade had called! If they could do this, what else could they do? A new World Trade Center? Something worse?

Deciding he couldn’t do anything about this at the moment, he got dressed. They were instructed to leave everything behind, including underwear and socks, but having had very little privacy lately, Robin simply stepped behind the car with Red, and stripped down. It felt very wrong to put clean clothes on, as he felt quite dirty, but real clothes instead of the scrubs was heavenly. They had managed to match their sizes pretty well. His sneakers were a bit tight, but otherwise it was fine. None of the clothes looked new, the very scuffed up shoes being a nice touch that fit their new styles. They both looked like the rough and tumble kind of teens, far from preppy or sporty. Red’s jeans hung low on his hips, showing off his underwear. Robin’s were tight, but cut up. They had hoodies, both with faded prints, Red’s of a band and Robin’s of super heroes. He thought that was pretty ironic.

“So, bro… think daddy will approve?” Red asked.

“I’m not sure my brain approves with this whole charade,” Robin groaned. Then he saw Slade. In jeans and shirt. It was the first time he’d ever seen the man in civilian clothes and, even though the clothes were nothing special, the sight made his brain start making howling and panting noises. He only realized that he was staring when he noticed the man smirk at him.

Their new ‘friends’ gathered up everything and put it in the stolen car that they were going to dispose of. They weren’t allowed to keep anything, including the gun, taser and mase, just in case they were searched. When all that was done, it was time to leave.

“Alright, we’re going to a close by motel,” Slade told them, like he was the coach going through the strategy for the next big game. “We’ve gotten kits for changing our looks slightly, we’ll use them there, spend the night, get some food and then we’re off again. Keep your hoodies up and sunglasses on until we’re in the rooms. Act like kids, though, don’t be too quiet or try to blend in, that might draw more attention… are we clear?”

Robin gave him a very level look and then smirked. “Ok, boomer.”

Red burst out in another fit of the giggles while Slade sighed.

“I should really hand both of you over to be disposed of, with the car,” he muttered.

“Wow. Mood,” Red supplied.

“But daaaaaad!” Robin groaned. “Don’t be such a bore! Come on, you said we could have pizza right?”

“Pizza?! Are we there yet?!” Red exclaimed.

“Let’s go!” the hero said. “I’ll drive!”

“You don’t have a license, _James_ ,” Red teased him You’re just a baaaaby. I’ll drive.”

“I’ll drive and that’s enough of that,” Slade told them.

“But daaad!” they both exclaimed.

“Both of you get in the back seat this instant and not another peep out of you until we’re at the motel, understood?” Slade barked, actually making the boys jump.

“Wow, did _he_ enter dad-mode quickly,” Robin muttered as he got into the back.

“Mom never yells at us!” Red complained as he climbed in after him.

“Why do I have a feeling you’re both enjoying this too much?” Slade grunted, raised his hand to his two contacts and entered the car himself.

“Well, after a few weeks of hell, can you blame us?” Robin grinned and put his sunglasses on.

Red was occupied by other thoughts. “There really will be pizza, right?”

There really was pizza. By now it was late in the afternoon and they were in their motel room. It was a rather cramped place, but it was better than the last place he had stayed, after all. Right opposite the door were two beds, a double and a single, right next to each other. On the same wall as the door was a wall mounted TV, facing the beds, and under that they had crammed a half moon shaped table with two chairs. Off to the side a small bathroom with dirty looking tiles on the floor and walls. The colors in the bedroom almost gave the teen a migraine, with a brightly colored orange feature wall behind the beds, the other walls being white. A fake wooden floor in dark brown and the blankets on the bed were red and white, clashing horribly with the feature wall. The door seemed to be competing with the blankets and was an undecided mix of blue and purple. Despite the surroundings, Robin was starting to feel safe, which was wonderful, but Slade reminded them to not relax quite yet. Slade and Robin had showered, and Red X was currently taking his turn. Robin was going through their ‘kits’, and felt his heart speed up when he saw the cell phone on his pile. He reached out for it, but a hand snatched it away.

“I think not,” Slade told him.

“The hell? Give it to me!”

“Thought I did that back by the air field,” Slade smirked down at him. “And no. I don’t think I can trust you not to do something stupid. Like calling Wayne.”

“Why would that be stupid?” Robin snapped, proving Slade’s point.

“Because I’m in no particular mood to kill him at the moment. And he’ll pull out all the stops to reach you and get you home. What do you think would happen to me and Red if Superman is spotted here, taking you away? Would we get away, you think? No, I’m holding onto this until we’re safe.”

“Only until we’re safe?” Robin dared to ask.

“Only until we’re safe,” Slade confirmed.

“Ok,” the teen agreed. “Ok. And yeah, I wanted to call Bruce. And yeah, I get now that it would most likely be stupid, because he’d barge in, whatever I tried to tell him, so fine. I won’t. But isn’t it better I have a phone? If we get separated?”

“Red?” Slade asked the teen, who was just coming out of the bathroom.

“Yeah?”

“Do you trust Robin not to do anything stupid if I gave him a phone?”

“Well, have you explained to him that it would be stupid to call home?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then… yeah. I trust him,” Red said, giving Robin an unusually serious look.

The hero nodded solemnly. “I won’t do anything to mess this up, ok?”

Slade sighed.

“It’s against my instincts, but here,” he said, handing the phone to him.

“Thanks daddy!” the teen said brightly and teasingly, making the man mutter something under his breath.

They soon found the things they were supposed to use to change their looks.

“We need to color our hair?” Robin exclaimed as he stared down two small boxes.

“One of the fastest and easiest ways to change your look,” Slade nodded. “Seems they want us all to be closer in hair color… makes sense. I’ll start with mine.”

Almost an hour later, Robin kept staring at Slade as he helped Red with his color. It was very strange seeing the man as a brunette. He had left the beard white, and it looked pretty good. Weird, as he wasn’t used to it, but good. Speaking of weird…

“Is this supposed to smell like this?” Robin asked with a crinkled nose, pointing to his own head.

“It’s bleach, so yes.”

“I will like you a lot dumber,” Red grinned.

“Huh?” Robin blinked.

“As a blonde! See, it’s already working!” the thief grinned.

“I’m going brunet like you guys,” Robin snorted. “I hope,” he added, not particularly wanting to have light hair. The timer on his phone then went off. “So I can rinse it out now?” he asked.

Slade came over to take a look.

“Yes. It looks pretty alright.”

Robin didn’t think it looked alright at all, and Red burst out laughing when he saw him.

“What even _is_ that color?” the thief asked.

“Like ginger and white blond mixed?” Robin muttered grumpily.

“It just needed to be lighter so you can put this dye in it,” Slade snorted. “Stop with the dramatics already.”

“I’m calling mom,” Robin grouched and plopped down on a chair, waiting for Slade to help him once he was done with Red.

All in all, the result wasn’t bad. They all had a version of the same, boring brown hair. Robin ha gotten streaks of red and blue in his hair too, haphazardly done so it would look homemade. It actually made him feel better about it all, though. He knew it was stupid to even care about his hair in a situation like this, but changing what he looked like, somehow made him feel more vulnerable. He had had to change so much already. Before this whole thing had happened, he had never entertained the idea that killing another human was justified. Well, he had entertained it, but never reached the conclusion that it was. He had also never killed anyone. Or been sexually, physically and mentally abused. Or felt so helpless, so close to giving up. He had been worried that maybe he had changed so much that he wouldn’t be able to return to his friends and family. That they wouldn’t understand. Judge him. And now, they might not even recognize him, not at first glance at least. It made him feel even further away from them, from home and safety. Unable to escape anywhere else, he slunk into the bathroom, locked the door, sunk down on the toilet and quietly cried.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, poor birdie!


	14. New Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This might be the second to last chapter, not sure yet.

Robin allowed himself five minutes of wallowing in self-pity and then he stood up and washed his face. It didn’t matter that the self-pity might be warranted, he just couldn’t let himself fall apart right now. They still had at least a day of travelling ahead of them before they could breathe more easily.

He was afraid that Slade or Red would question his visit to the bathroom or spot that he had been crying, but just as he walked out, Slade got off the phone.

“Bad news,” he told them. “I’ve just been told that they are tightening controls in the area, we’re going to have to go through at least one check point tomorrow.”

“We can’t try back roads?” Robin asked.

“No, that would look too suspicious. Our story wouldn’t quite fit. We’re a family on our way home, after all, we’d stay on the bigger roads, where there’s easy access to food, gas and places to stay for the night,” Slade said.

“Ok, that makes sense,” Robin agreed with a sigh. “I just… I don’t like the police right now.”

“Welcome to the club!” Red grinned at him. “Now you know how I feel!”

“Yaaay…” Robin muttered. “What now? Just lay low and move out tomorrow?”

Slade nodded. “We could use the rest,” he said, and Robin, when he looked very closely, could see signs of tiredness in the man. Slade hadn’t slept at all, been severely injured and he hadn’t eaten until they had the pizza here at the motel, leaving the burgers to Red and Robin. It never ceased to amaze him how the man could be an ass one moment and protective and self-sacrificing the next. Although, the teen figured, Slade would probably explain it all away with how it made sense, as he had heightened senses and could go without food for longer. He still _felt_ tiredness and hunger, though.

“Agreed,” Robin nodded. He was still in only his towel from the shower, so he went through his bag and grinned as he found actual pajamas. Again, with a super hero motif. He started to wonder if Slade had let something slip to his clients or they knew who he was and were joking with him, but as the mercenary hadn’t made a comment about it yet, it might just be a coincidence.

It wasn’t really cold enough for pajamas, and at home he usually just wore sleep pants, but after having to share a bed in only his underwear lately, he knew he’d appreciate the extra ‘armor’. He even went into the bathroom to change. When he got out, the others were in their underwear, and Red laughed when he saw him.

“Sexy, bro!”

“Just making sure there’s no incestuous thoughts in this room,” Robin huffed.

Slade, who was sitting on one side of the twin bed, snorted at that remark. He had just turned on the TV and was flipping through the channels in search of something.

Robin got into bed next to him, getting an amused look from the man for some reason, before he found what he was looking for on the TV. The local news channel.

Red stretched out on the other bed.

“Aaah… I know these beds are horrible, but they are still so much better than what we’ve been sleeping on lately,” he moaned.

“Mm…” Robin agreed, trying to focus on the TV but already getting tired again. The sheets and blankets felt heavenly too.

“We’re on TV,” Slade suddenly said. That got everyone’s attention.

“Those are pretty crappy drawings, why don’t they use photos?” Robin asked, as quite a few pictures were shown, not only of them but of others that apparently got away as well.

“What do you think Wayne would do if your picture showed up on TV?” Slade asked. “They want to keep this local; they don’t want to give out who exactly has escaped and especially not from where.”

“Apparently we were in a loony bin?” Red snorted.

“Yes, they aren’t going to say high security prison for meta humans,” the mercenary snorted. “The locals probably had no idea that something like that existed close by, and they want to keep it that way, while telling people to keep a lookout for strangers.”

They watched a bit longer, but there wasn’t any real information that they could use. Robin felt his eyes get heavy again, but before he fell asleep, he heard deep breaths from his right and looked over. Slade was out cold. He grinned and took the remote control from the man’s hand. He didn’t even stir. Robin, feeling unusually generous towards him, put a blanket on top of him, turned off the TV and got under the covers himself.

“You’re a funny guy…” Red told from the other bed.

“Huh? Why?”

“You realized you got into his bed, right? You could have chosen this one, it was empty, but you crawled into his like you belonged there. And he noticed.”

Robin’s face exploded with color.

“I… just… I… didn’t think… I…” he babbled, trying to come up with an excuse.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” the thief chuckled. “Just remember that you can’t bring him home with you. Don’t get too attached.”

“That is _not_ the problem here, the problem is _his_ attachment!” Robin hissed.

“If you say so.”

“Oh, shut up, _Michael_ ,” Robin snorted and turned around. Only, he ended up facing Slade, and getting quite close to him as well. Oh well, it was time to sleep and try to ignore the snickers from the next bed.

As he had been sleeping in the car and napped a lot in the day, Robin woke up well before dawn. Even though the bed was so much larger than the bunk, Slade has still managed to find him in his sleep, and was spooning him as usual, one arm firmly around him. Robin chuckled quietly, wondering if it was possessiveness or to make sure he didn’t run off. Maybe it was just habit. His bladder announced that it wanted to be emptied, so Robin started to shimmy out of the grip, when it suddenly hardened to the point where he couldn’t breathe or move.

“-ade!” he gasped, trying to hit the man’s arm with as much of his hand as he could free.

“Hm?” Slade grunted. “Oh. Getting up?” the grip loosened, though only slightly.

”Need to pee!”

“Ah.” The man let him go, turned around and was fast asleep instantly, if he had even really been awake. Robin padded away to the bathroom, did his business, and, for the lack of better things to do, got back into bed. It wasn’t like he could go out for a walk or a run, or anything, really. He glanced over at Red, but the thief was also sleeping. In the end Robin closed his eyes and drifted off again too.

“Even though I understand how those cat people reason now, we _do_ have to leave soon,” Robin heard Slade’s voice say, waking him up.

“Uh?”

“You’re sleeping on top of me. It’s cute, but it’s time to go.”

“How the…?” Robin exclaimed, sitting up and discovering that he was, in fact, fully on top of the man, sprawled across him.

“Ow, if you want to play with that later, you should get your knee off it,” the mercenary grunted.

Robin discovered where his knee was and quickly rolled away.

“’s morning?” he heard Red mutter, and the former redhead was sitting up, stretching and grunting.

“Get dressed, pack, make sure everything that has to do with hair coloring is in a plastic bag, packed as small as you can manage it. We need to get rid of it elsewhere.”

“Yes, father,” Robin smirked at him.

Slade snorted, picked up a toiletry bag and headed into the bathroom. “I might be a while, neither one of you needs the bathroom right now, do you?” he asked.

“Nope,” Red answered.

“No, and no need to share, trust me,” Robin muttered, and reached for his clothes. He picked out new ones, as that was a luxury he felt he deserved. T-shirt and jeans this time, again, super hero motif. Someone _was_ poking fun at him, he was sure.

Slade did take a while, and Robin was getting hungry. He and Red had made sure everything was packed away, including their incriminating trash, and were now just watching TV, waiting.

“Ok, I’m starting to need the bathroom now,” Red muttered.

“Are you sure you wanna go in there after him?” Robin snickered. “I don’t think he ever took a dump, not in the cell at least, just saying…”

“You’re disgusting for a hero, but I like you anyway,” Red grinned.

“Thanks, bro,” Robin grinned back.

At that moment Slade came out.

“Need more fiber?” Robin grinned at him, and then just stopped talking, mouth hanging open.

“What… how…?” Red asked the universe in general.

“The staring is making me self-conscious. I hate that,” Slade snorted. “You’ve never seen a man with two eyes before?”

“Not you, no,” Robin said, trying to figure out what else was… well… wrong.

“You shaved too!” Red suddenly exclaimed, and then it clicked for Robin too. Slade had taken his beard down to not much more than a stubble, and shaved his cheeks and jawline completely smooth, changing the shape of it drastically.

“How did you even shave back in prison?” Robin asked, realizing he’d never seen it. He absentmindedly felt his own chin which was, as always, depressingly void of facial hair. 

“You could ask for a single use razor, but you were monitored and had to put it back directly after use or you got hurt,” Slade said. “I made sure you were sleeping, though. I didn’t want you close to a blade, especially in the beginning.”

“Awww!” Robin grinned. “That’s so sweet of you! But how the hell did you get a perfectly matching eye? There is no way they made one in just a few hours!”

“No, this is one of mine. We prepared well, and there was a few of them spread throughout the country, if needed. Remember, we’ve had a year…” the mercenary shrugged.

“You look weird,” the hero then blurted out, staring that the brown-haired two-eyed man with the stubble goatee.

“I feel so special,” Slade grunted. “And wait, there’s more.”

They then watched the man dress, and cracked up when the man pulled on a sweater. And not just any sweater, this one had some sort of subtle padding in the front, giving the man a bit of a pouch. It was also ill fitting enough to hide his muscular arms. It looked like it was home made by either a struggling child or a half senile grandmother. Lastly, he put on a pair of glasses with a wide, brown plastic rim and, and this made Red almost choke with laughter; there were those kinds of sun glasses that you flicked down attached on top of them.

“I’ve never been less attracted to you. Actually, I’m starting to realize that I must have been insanely attracted to you since we first met, compared to this,” Robin almost cried.

“Well, that has always been obvious, but thank you,” the man said flippantly. “Come on now, boys. And put on a jacket, it’s nippy outside.”

“Yes, dad!” they both chorused, and, in high spirits, got their things together and left.

It was only a short walk to the car, and Robin and Red tried their best to look and act like two younger teens, shoving each other playfully, calling each other different nicknames. All the while, though, Robin was almost physically ill with nerves, feeling like the few people around were staring, expecting someone to raise the alarm at any second. Nothing, of course, happened. They got in the car, with Robin in the back seat, as Red argued that he was the older and therefore had automatic dibs, and drove away.

“So… breakfast?” Red asked after the car had barely started rolling.

“Keep your eyes open. Anything that has a drive through,” Slade said. They found a fast food restaurant close by and by the time they hit the major road out of town they were all chewing on something.

“I’ll go fat. I love food too much now. I’ll never stop eating,” Robin moaned.

“Me too. I’ll just retire on my pay for this, and spend all my time eating,” Red agreed.

“You were in there for like two minutes,” Robin snorted.

“Yes, but the food was awful! It sucked all the joy out of me and I thought I’d never taste real food again!”

“You’re not tasting real food now,” Slade snorted. He was eating his sandwich like it was something he just had to get through.

“Oh, hush, you health freak, you can cook for us tomorrow, if that’s what you want,” Red snorted.

“Slade? Cook?” Robin laughed.

“He’s actually rather good,” Red revealed. “Mostly with potatoes and big chunks of grilled meat, but he does a mean pepper sauce too.”

“I’m listening…” Robin admitted with a grin. Slade gave him a look in the mirror, but with his new look it didn’t quite work and the teen just started snickering.

“Checkpoint!” Red suddenly called out, making the laughter die instantly.

“Relax,” Slade told them. “We are nothing like they are looking for.”

The police stopped each vehicle, but it was early enough in the morning not to be much of a cue.

“Good morning, license and registration, please?” A male officer coming up to the window, asked.

“Certainly,” Slade said jovially. “What is all this about, then? Sobriety testing?”

“No, sir, we’re looking for certain individuals,” the officer let them know. “Where are you heading today?”

“Home to Pittsburgh, although we’re probably going to stop for the night about half way there,” Slade said. Robin was blown away by how the man changed his voice to sound so completely unthreatening.

“And the reason for you being on the road?”

The hero noticed that the officer was flicking though pages, and kept looking up at them. The hero bet that he was comparing them to pictures, and he had a feeling the police had actual photos.

Red was on his phone, headphones in, looking like he didn’t give a fuck, and Robin wished he had thought of that, as the policeman’s eyes landed on him next.

“Hello, son,” he said. He didn’t seem unfriendly or suspicious at all, but the teen’s stomach was an ice pit of dread.

“Hi,” he said, hearing how nervous he sounded and mustered all his acting skills into seeming excited instead. “Is this about what was on the news last night? The crazy people?”

“What crazy people?” Slade asked sharply, suddenly sounding worried.

“Well, yes, there’s been a… situation, at a nearby facility,” the officer said. “But don’t worry, we’re keeping it contained. There you go,” he added, handing the documents back to Slade. “You are clear to go, have a nice day.”

“Thank you, sir,” Slade nodded, and rolled away.

Robin started breathing again as soon as they were far enough away to pick up speed.

“Holy shit,” he gasped.

Red X burst out laughing. “Bro, you heroes have no chill when it comes to cops, do you?”

“Yeah, well, they are usually on my side!” the teen defended himself. He had pulled up his phone and was looking at google maps, getting a better sense of where they were. “So… where are we going? I mean… really?”

“Outskirts of New York,” Slade supplied. “I have a place there. From there I can access my funds, pay Red, we can look into new identities…”

“I like the paying part,” Red grinned. “Although I’d like to point out that you have a phone, so… can’t you access stuff with that?”

“My clients are very good. Doesn’t mean I trust them not to track and tap a phone they give to me,” the mercenary snorted.

Robin glanced down on at his phone, realizing that he had planned on calling Bruce on it. He had almost outed Batman to a terrorist organization. He started to understand how little he knew about this world, how naïve he was about certain things, and that didn’t sit well with him. He was used to feeling experienced, far beyond his years, seen the darkest parts of humanity, but he was used to trusting the people who helped him. That was obviously not a good idea on the other side of the law. He had known that before, of course, but intellectually knowing something and acting accordingly didn’t always go hand in hand.

“Well, yeah,” Red shrugged. “Just thought I’d ask,” he added.

“You’ll get paid. I don’t go back on my word,” the man growled, sounding insulted.

“I didn’t say you did, it’s just… it’s a lot of money for me. Big changes. Sorry,” the thief said.

Slade nodded, showing he understood. “I hope you’re not really retiring,” he said. “I might still have use of you.”

“Sure, unless it involves something like this. I’m not doing this again,” the former redhead shuddered.

“Well, I’m not sure I will either,” Slade chuckled. “It was… intense at times. But mostly boring. Good thing I had Robin to distract me in the end.”

“Yay, I’m so glad I could help,” the teen in the backseat drawled. “About our goal… it’s a ways away, app says 18 hours… are we going to do it in one stretch?”

“No, we’re stopping along the way at least once. I want to switch cars when we’re out of the danger zone, probably close to Pittsburg, in fact. Something more discreet. Phones too.”

“Won’t your clients be a bit pissed if they discover that?” Robin asked.

“If they check it, through tracking the phones or the credit card I got, then they know exactly why I did it. They would expect it. But there’s no need to be hasty, we might as well use what we were given for as long as it makes sense.”

They settled down for the drive. There were two more check points, the last one they were merely waved through, and then nothing in particular. Robin noticed a few more police cars on the roads than normal, military as well, and they spotted a few choppers, showing that the area was ‘hot’ so to speak, but eventually that activity died away as well.

They kept eating at drive ins, wanting as little contact with people as possible, and that night the stopped at a motel that seemed to consist of mostly roaches and the smell of puke.

“I don’t want to seem spoiled…” Robin said when he saw their room.

“But you are,” Red teased him.

“Well, not all of us can be street rats,” Robin sniffed haughtily as a joke.

“To be honest, this is a bit low even for me,” the thief claimed. “Our dad obviously doesn’t want what’s best for us.”

“Your dad was tired of you talking about inane things in the car and wanted to rest,” Slade muttered.

“No appreciation for dank memes,” Red snorted.

“We did an annoy,” Robin snickered.

The mercenary sighed like he was in actual pain, and cuffed both their heads as he walked by to inspect the bathroom. He came out of there as soon as he had entered, however.

“Alright. We’ll upgrade,” he told them.

Half an hour later they were settled in a much better motel room. It seemed to exist in the sixties, but they didn’t mind. They had bags of Chinese food and were watching the news. Nothing about the mass escape had reached this far, but the main story was the pandemic.

“They’re closing the schools?” Robin asked worriedly.

“I’m more worried about closed used car lots, stores, and fewer people around,” Slade muttered. “But considering we’ve made it this far…”

“I was worried about the damn country!” Robin objected. “Not us!”

“Ah, so you were stupid,” Slade smirked at him.

“Do you believe this guy?” Robin asked Red with a sigh, indicating the mercenary.

“Who has the sweet and sour beef?” was all the thief wanted to know.

They talked more about the pandemic as they ate. Slade told them what he had seen in China, and Robin didn’t like the idea of the same thing happening in the U.S.

“It won’t get too mad, though, will it? If people just stay home and are careful?”

Slade gave him a look and then burst out in an unusually warm chuckle.

“Sometimes I forget how young you are,” he sighed, still chuckling.

“What?” the teen demanded to know.

“Robin,” Red supplied. “People are stupid and egoistical.”

“Not everyone!”

“Until the stores run out of toilet paper…” Slade snorted.

“Why would they out of toilet paper?! I’m sure we’ll be fine. The government will listen to the experts, set rules and then people will follow them.”

“Um… Rob… did… you forget who’s in charge?” Red asked carefully.

Robin paused and then paled.

“Oh, shit, we’re dead.”

“You’re welcome to ride this one out with me,” Slade offered, but his smile was more a leer this time.

“You just want me to ride it out _on_ you,” Robin snorted.

“Weeell…” the man shrugged, like he was saying that he wouldn’t mind it, if Robin insisted.

The teen snorted and turned the discussion back to current events.

This was the first time since back at the airfield that Slade had even suggested anything sexual. It might not be that long to most normal people, but in Robin’s experience the man was almost acting like a monk again. He was keeping his mind on the mission, though, he supposed, and he appreciated that. Also, with Red this close by… Not that the teen _wanted_ anything to happen, of course! Nope, it was better if it didn’t.

The next day they found a place to dump the canoe and then headed to a used car lot. Slade traded in the mini van for a sportier looking car, though it was most likely worth much less than the van. He kept complaining that his wife had ‘made him’ get a mini van and he’d be damned if he was going to keep it now when the bitch had divorced him. Robin and Red had the worst time trying to keep from laughing, and instead looking like embarrassed and slightly moody teens. They cracked up completely when they left the place, though.

“Oh, god, you’ve been so had…” Red guffawed. “When the salesmen said this was practically a Porsche…”

“More like a porch…” Robin snickered.

“I am fully aware, I didn’t want to use the credit card here, and we only have limited amounts of cash,” Slade said. “I’d rather they know that we have switch phones than what car we drive.”

“Um… you… are sure your client won’t… attack us in any way for any weird reason, right?” Robin asked, wondering if he now had something new to worry about.

“They won’t. I just don’t want then to think they are good enough to keep track of me.”

“Well… no offence,” Red piped up, “But they seemed to be running circles around pretty much anyone.”

“Well, they are big, but not omnipotent. And the only reason I haven’t switched out everything already, including clothes, is because of you two. It’s easier to go along with most things with you here.”

“Well, I can leave?” Robin offered. “Hook me up with a grey hound ticket to Gotham and I’m out of your hair forever.”

“Generous, but no. I think I’ll keep you for a while,” Slade grinned.

“Remember what you promised. I’m not your bitch _or_ your prisoner,” Robin growled, not seeing the fun in the man’s statement at all.

“Doesn’t mean you’re not mine,” the man smirked wider at him in the rear-view mirror.

“I don’t know when Slade made that promise, but he was clearly not all there… he was horny, wasn’t he?” Red snickered.

Robin snorted and tried to ignore the implications of that. He wouldn’t stay with Slade longer than he had to, no longer than was convenient. 

Slade decided to keep them on the road until they reached their destination. Robin and Red insisted on frequent snack stops, but otherwise agreed. With them getting the cat and new phones, which took a couple of hours, and then having ten more hours to drive, they arrived at Slade’s place late in the night. Robin had no idea what to expect, but when he saw the abandoned-looking industrial building, he had to agree that it fitted the man. There were all kinds of security measures to reach the place and the teen felt his heart suddenly speed up for no good reason. He had no idea why he reacted like this until Red swallowed loudly and told them what was in his mind.

“It reminds me of a prison,” he said.

“Just necessary security,” Slade snorted. “This isn’t just some overnight apartment, it’s a base. I keep quite a lot of equipment here.”

When they finally reached the door, there was a gloomy hallway inside. Slade turned off several alarms and led them up a staircase to another door. Inside that one, though…

“Wow!” Red exclaimed. “How the…?” When the lights came on they saw large, industrial windows in a very spacious and well decorated open plan apartment. It looked like it could have been taken straight from some trendy decorating magazine. The windows seemed to be one way, Robin noticed, like the one’s at the tower, and would still appear dark from the outside. Apart from looking luxurious, the apartment also looked strangely normal. No weapons. No wall of tv screens showing surveillance footage. No cog wheels. Robin knew, of course, that other rooms would most likely contain, if not all of that, then at least weapons.

“So… is this a ‘sleep on the sofa’ kind of arrangement, or…?” Red asked, looking around.

“There is a guest bedroom down the hall,” Slade said, nodding his head in the direction.

“A? As in one?” Robin asked suspiciously.

“I thought you’d like to stay with me,” the man half asked, half offered.

“I’m fine on the sofa,” Robin decided. It was time for boundaries again. His libido could go fuck itself, Robin wouldn’t participate.

“If you insist, there’s another room down there,” Slade chuckled.

“You entertain lots of guests, do you?” Robin was curious.

“Occasionally. Clients. People who need protection or to disappear for a while.”

“And the place is spot free. Not a speck of dust,” the hero pointed out as well.

“I have employees, of sorts. I called one, made sure to have the place in order. There should be food in the fridge as well.”

“Did someone say food?” Red asked, coming back from exploring the place.

“You can’t possibly be hungry already?” Slade asked.

“Yeah, well… being safe and all… I wouldn’t mind a snack?” the thief said.

“Are we?” Robin asked Slade, looking up at him. “Are we really safe now?”

“I’d say so, yes.”

“Oh. Good,” the teen said, breathing a sigh of relief and then smashing his fist into the man’s nose.

_To be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robin being a bit… unhinged. Well, who can blame him?


	15. New Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Last chapter and pretty long-ish.

No one was more surprised than Robin when his fist actually connected with Slade’s nose, creating a crunching sound, followed by a splatter of blood.

The hero stepped back, outwardly calm, but inside a volcano of emotions were brewing.

“How did you know what I got arrested for?” he asked coldly. The thought ‘he’s going to kill me’ briefly ran through his mind, but he stood his ground.

Slade was actually speechless for a moment. Then he smirked, pinched and straightened his nose with a grunt of pain, and turned his back to the teen, walking over to the kitchen-area. He grabbed a towel, wet it in the sink, and gently started to clean off.

“You’re not going to answer me?” Robin growled.

“I’ll be over here. All the way over here. Not being a witness to anything,” Red almost whimpered and escaped to the other side of the vast living room. “Don’t kill him!”

“I won’t,” Slade snorted.

“Wasn’t speaking to you,” Red informed the mercenary, which made Robin smirk and straighten up a little.

“Well?” the hero prompted.

“I’ll tell you. But can we wait until I don’t sound like a Muppet anymore?” Slade asked as he continued to clean up. His nose had stopped bleeding, but his shirt looked like evidence from a gruesome murder.

There was a certain nasal note to the man’s voice, and Robin had to bite back a snicker. Red let his free, however, although just briefly, before he remembered that it was better if he melted into the background a bit more.

A few moments later, Slade blew his nose, washed his face and, apart from some redness, there was no sign of the broken nose. Robin doubted it had already healed completely, but there wasn’t any swelling and it had quickly stopped bleeding. 

“So… you found out… when?” Slade asked and glanced at Red, clearly thinking it was his fault.

“Your poker buddies told me they had no idea what had happened, yet, somehow, you knew details,” Robin said accusingly.

“Well, that was clumsy of me,” Slade said in a tone that told Robin that the man had known exactly what he was doing.

The teen snorted. “Right. So how did you know? The pill-messages?”

“Yes. And no.”

“Fucking tell me already!” Robin snapped, losing his cool and letting some of his feelings, none of them good, surface.

“You’re not going to like it,” Slade warned him. Red whimpered softly from his corner.

“I haven’t liked much in my life lately, so just go ahead. Mess my life up more if you can,” the hero snorted.

“Very well.” Slade walked slowly through the room, looking thoughtful, like he was trying to decide how to start. “When I took on this mission, I knew it would be boring,” he said. “I decided that if I was going to spend a certain amount of time in there… I wanted some entertainment.”

Robin felt himself grow cold.

“You… you didn’t…?” he gasped, almost pleaded.

“Of course not,” Slade said and then smirked. “My clients did. They set it all up. They had some people they needed to get rid of, and you were a decent scape goat.”

“So… I… I really didn’t kill anyone?” Robin asked.

“Of course not!” Slade snorted.

“Told you!” Red piped up, but then made a small distressed sound when Slade glanced over his way.

“I knew you would doubt that you were guilty, but it was interesting to see you try to come to terms with it,” Slade told him.

“I WAS RAPED, YOU BASTARD!” Robin roared, grabbed something off the coffee table and hurled it at the man’s head.

Slade simply caught the thing, a small but heavy ceramic figurine, out of the air, and placed it down on a shelf close to him.

“No. You weren’t.”

Robin took a step back, almost staggering. “I… I… wasn’t?”

“No. It was set up as well.”

“On… your orders?”

“Yes.”

“How… how could you?” the teen asked, feeling broken. The anger inside only found temporary footholds, to launch itself to the surface in short bursts, before the footholds broke again, plunging all feelings into a black pit of despair once more.

“I wanted to bring you down a few pegs. I thought that if you were already cracked when you came to me, breaking you wouldn’t be hard. And it wasn’t. After I showed you that you needed me, you latched on. You saw me as your savior. And I _was_ , make no mistake, but only by design.”

The teen launched himself at the man with a roar. He was swatted away, but simply rolled when he landed, shot to his feet and attacked again. Robin hadn’t hated this blindly since his parents died, never been in a rage like this, never tried to _hurt_ someone as much as he was right now. Because he wasn’t in control, however, Slade had little to no trouble keeping him away. The man didn’t retaliate, but made sure he blocked the attacks in a way that either hurt or had the teen flying through the air. It went on until long after the hero was actually exhausted. His clothes were soaked in sweat and a bit of blood. They were also torn in several places, his t-shirt having a large rip down the back. He landed heavily on the floor after his last attack, and stayed there. He managed to sit up, leaning on his hands, and that was it. No more. He was waiting for words to come to him, any words. More accusations, questions… but nothing came for a long while.

“Robin…?” It was Red X, close by, his voice worried. “Are… are you… ok?”

“…no…” Robin gasped out. He looked up at Slade, who was still standing in the same place, looking grim. “Do… do you think I… deserved this?” he asked, brokenly. “You… must really… hate me.”

“No,” Slade answered after a moment’s hesitation. “And no. I _did_ think you deserved it at first. You were becoming arrogant, Robin. Dangerously arrogant. You were leading your team into situations neither them or you were quite equipped to handle yet. Taking on too much. That path would have gotten you killed.”

“Oh, so I’m lucky then? You did me a favor?” Robin snarled, with all the energy he had left.

“In a way,” the man smirked. “Make no mistake, I didn’t particularly _like_ you before this. I thought I could use you, though. An asset, if trained correctly. And quite an achievement for me, turning Batman’s prodigy to the… profitable side. I think I told you, didn’t I, that I wanted to see you suffer? That I’d find it entertaining? But I had a reason.”

“Being an evil psychotic bastard with a hubris complex is no reason,” Robin grunted, still trying to regain his strength to attack again.

“Well…” The man shrugged, like he didn’t quite agree. “Anyway, no, it had nothing to do with me, but with you. Something you did. A decision you made led to you ending up in there with me.”

Robin blinked, perplexed. “What… what do you mean?”

“My clients had a specific order. They would only make all this happen if, and only if, you openly celebrated your ‘victory’.”

Robin’s mind went blank for a moment, while he was trying to understand what Slade had just told him.

“But… I…”

“Drinking and dancing with your team and Titans East,” Slade said, like he thought he needed to remind the teen. “Arrogant, Robin. And sloppy. Very sloppy. Did Bruce teach you that? I can’t really picture him intoxicated at some gay club because he put away the Joker yet again.”

“It… it wasn’t… it’s not like that! We always celebrate! We’ll have pizza or… or a movie night… The only reason was that Titans East helped and … and we thought… we… someone suggested…”

“Of course you celebrate. Winning the battle, still being alive… but this wasn’t a fair fight, Robin. This was a trap. Two teams against one man, who, may I remind you, was set up. This wasn’t a celebration for saving the world or even the city. It was personal. And public.”

The hero didn’t want to, but he _did_ feel a flash of shame. He remembered feeling uneasy about it at first when going out was first suggested, but it wasn’t often the two teams got to hang out, and he had decided that it was ok, just for the company if nothing else. The fact was that the victory had felt strangely… empty. Uneasy. It wasn’t at all like shutting down the H.I.V.E, for example. He remembered thinking that it would help him feel better, and that he’d be as happy as the rest of the Titans seemed to be, if he just celebrated it properly. Still, what Slade had done…

“Don’t try to paint yourself as the victim here,” Robin growled. “We are teenagers, and we had a damn good reason to celebrate!”

“Yes, and I’d expect it from the others. Just not you. As much as I enjoyed you joining me in there, I have to say… I was disappointed in you, Robin.”

“Fuck you!”

“Yes, but that part wasn’t disappointing at all,” the man chuckled. “It’s late. Go to bed.”

Robin glanced towards the window and Slade sighed.

“Yes, boy, I know your instincts are telling you to run. Don’t. The compound is on lock down and there are more booby traps out there than you are equipped to deal with. We’ll make plans tomorrow.”

“I’m going back to Gotham!” Robin hissed.

Slade gave him a rather flat look. “Yes. You are.”

The man then left, entering what Robin assumed was the master bedroom. The teen still hadn’t managed to stand up, but as soon as Slade was gone, Red came to his aid, taking his arm to help him up.

“Let me show you the bedroom,” he said. Robin’s eyes again went to the window and the thief’s grip hardened. “No, Robin. Just no, ok? Please?”

Robin sighed but looked away from the tempting sight of perceived freedom.

“Ok…” he said softly and allowed himself to be led to a room. He fell down on the bed in there, on his stomach, and just stayed still.

“Do you… um… need anything?” Red asked.

“A gun?” the hero said dryly.

“Ok, what kind?”

“It was a joke.”

“Oh… yeah… I was hoping it was,” the other teen admitted. “Listen, I’m… I’m not good at this, ok? Been looking out for number one all my life, only been me, really… I don’t know what to do here, so… I’m… sorry if I suck, ok?”

Robin chuckled a little and, using all his energy, rolled over to look at the former redhead.

“It’s ok. I just need to rest. I’ll deal with it when I’ve had time to really… take it in.”

“Ok. Ok good. Listen, I’m in the room just down the hall. If you need something… if you don’t wanna be alone…?”

“You’re pretty good at ‘this’ for a beginner,” Robin told him with a small smile.

“If there’s any potatoes in that kitchen I could see about getting both of us an ‘I hate Slade’ t-shirt by tomorrow? You know? Potato-print? I remember that from some show on TV…”

Robin chuckled a bit more, but then said wryly, “Wouldn’t that be bad for business?” The thief looked a bit hurt, and the hero quickly continued, “Sorry! I know things are a bit… complicated for you. I don’t blame you, remember?”

“Yeah… sorry…” Red shrugged awkwardly. “So… try to get some sleep, ok?”

“I will.”

“No running away into the night?”

“Promise.”

“Because he’ll win if you do, you know. He’ll think you’re weak. Or acting like a sulking kid,” Red said solemnly.

Robin just looked at him quietly for a while. “Damn you,” he then grunted.

“Aha! I _knew_ you were going to run!”

“I was not!” Robin blatantly lied. “I’m tired. I’m gonna sleep,” he muttered and rolled over again, back against the door.

He heard the thief chuckle, bid him goodnight and close the door.

Robin fully intended to just rest for a bit and then either try to find his trunk with his pajamas or at least undress, but instead he was simply out like a light.

Strangely enough he had barely had any nightmares in prison. But he had them now. Zaid featured a lot, both reaching for him, intending to rape him, or dying on the floor in front of him. Ore was there too, also in those two roles. Then there was a whole drove of people, mostly faceless, chasing him, grabbing for him, tearing off his clothes, trying to hold him down, choking him, but each time they were stopped. Someone pulled them away, stepped in front of them or carried him away from them. Someone held him when he cried and screamed, not in a coddling way, but securely. Someone’s voice kept telling him not to give up, that he was stronger than them, better than them, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Slade.

Robin suddenly awoke, a cry on his lips and tears streaming down his cheeks. He was alone. Cold. No one was holding him. A fleeting memory of something the man had said before, surfaced, and he wondered to himself what Slade had meant when he had said that he hadn’t liked him ‘before this’... Almost immediately he fell asleep again, to more of the same nightmares but, this time, there was no Slade.

Next time he woke up it was light outside. He sat up, shakily. His torn clothes were even more torn now, and the neck band of his t-shirt was pulled quite tightly around his throat.

“Explains some of the dreams,” Robin muttered as he disentangled himself.

He stood up, looked around, and noticed a door that wasn’t the door out to the hallway. He tried it, and, as he had hoped, it led to a small bathroom and shower. He turned the water on, stripped completely and stepped under the spray. He just stood there for fifteen minutes before even reaching for the bottles of body wash and shampoo which were neatly lined up on the counter, like at a hotel room. Whoever Slade had paid to stock this place had done a thorough job. When he felt more like himself again, he got out and dried off. Having nothing he wanted to dress in, he wrapped a towel around himself. He then stood in front of the door for a while, gathering courage, building up his walls, before taking a deep breath and opening it.

The first thing that hit him was the absolutely mouthwatering smell of breakfast cooking. He could find his way to the kitchen by smell alone. It was Slade standing in front of the stove, frying bacon. The sight didn’t surprise Robin like it would have a few months ago.

“Good morning. Slept well?” the man asked.

“Where is my bag?” the teen asked, refusing to even look at the man.

“Just inside the door,” Slade told him.

Robin found it, returned to his room and got dressed. When he came back out, Red had appeared as well, sitting at the kitchen table and enthusiastically buttering a piece of hot, golden brown toast.

Robin sat down too, reluctantly, but feeling it was the adult thing to do.

“Morning,” Red greeted him with a small smile. “Feel any better?”

“A bit,” Robin said, not quite knowing if it was a lie.

“Here you go,” Slade told them, putting a big plate of bacon and fried eggs in the middle of the table. “Eat, and you can go back to trying to kill me later.”

“Great, that’s a date,” Robin muttered. He was hungry, starving actually, so he dug in with only little less enthusiasm than Red X. He was happy that he could eat, because otherwise he was afraid that Slade would see him as a sulking kid, just like Red had warned him about.

They ate mostly in silence. Robin stole glances of the mercenary now and then and noticed that his eyepatch was back. He was also dressed in a well fitting t-shirt and jeans now, the ‘middle age man’ clothes gone. Even his hair seemed a touch lighter, and Red’s hair had some of the redness back. Robin assumed their colors weren’t that permanent.

“There are recommendations out to avoid crowds and self-isolate as much as possible,” Slade told them. “There shouldn’t be any problems traveling, though, as Gotham is just a few hours away.”

Robin looked up from his food, surprised. “So… I can just… go home?”

“Yes. Soon, at least. Probably in two days. We need to plan for it first, though. All right?”

The man was, subtly, asking him if he was going to be able to hold things together for long enough, and Robin snorted.

“Hell yeah.”

“Good.” The man stood up. “I’ll get some things together. As I cooked, you two do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. I don’t want to see any sloppy work either.”

“Yes, dad,” Red grinned, mouth still full of food. Robin just shrugged in agreement. Slade left them to do whatever it was he was going to do.

They finished eating and then did as the man had demanded, and cleaned up. They didn’t stop until everything was spotless. Figuring out where everything went after washing it probably took the longest, though, but when they found the right drawers or cupboards it was pretty obvious where it all went. The man was meticulously organized to a fault.

“Must be something wrong with him,” Red snorted.

“You think?!” Robin snorted.

“Well, besides the obvious!” Red defended himself. “No one is this neat!”

Robin, who had secretly admired the organized kitchen and wished it was his, blushed and didn’t reply.

“All done?” they heard Slade ask. The man looked around and then nodded, so they had obviously passed. “Alright. Let’s sit down around the dinner table and discuss our plans,” he said.

Robin turned towards the table, but Slade walked out of the kitchen area. Perplexed, the teen followed him with his eyes until he realized that he was heading to another, bigger table standing by a window. Ah, so that was the ‘dinner table’ then. The teens followed him and sat down. On the table Slade placed a laptop, a note book and a map.

“Let’s start with you, Red,” he said. “I have transmitted the rest of the payment to you, and, as promised, you’ll get a whole new identity. The one you got from my client was just an ID-card, after all, and it wouldn’t hold up under any closer scrutiny. Now you’ll get everything from birth certificate, social security number, driver’s license and passport, lust like we agreed. I ordered it done before my arrest, so it’s no hasty work, you will have a traceable background from new born to today.”

“Sweet!”

“They are getting put together and will be shipped here, so it might be a day or two.”

“We have food, right?”

“Yes?”

“No problem then.”

The mercenary seemed to roll his eye. “I have a shampoo that will get the dye out of your hair, if you want to,” he offered.

“Hell yeah, being a brunette suck,” the thief admitted.

“I rather agree. Besides, Robin keep looking at me thinking I look strange with brown hair,” Slade smirked, looking at the hero.

“I’m not!” Robin, who had been thinking precisely that just a second ago, spluttered. “I don’t give a damn what you look like.”

“Strange, then, that you keep thinking about it,” the man smirked at him, but then turned to Red again. “The situation in the country is grim. It might lead to people being more suspicious of strangers, you will also need to stay inside more. I’d recommend finding a place to live for at least a few months, maybe a year. You can’t stay at a hotel room as they might shut down, you’ll need to rent or buy. I can try to hook you up with something if you let me know where you’d want to be.”

“Thank you,” Red said, sounding genuinely grateful.

“Then that’s settled. Onto you, Robin.”

“Yes, let’s hear your excuse for keeping me around as your sex slave for a few years, shall we?” the teen drawled.

The mercenary paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I really wish I had such an idea,” he then admitted. “But alas. As soon as Red here gets his papers, I’ll drive you to Gotham myself. You can call Bruce on this laptop, I’ve made sure it’s a secure connection, however-” the man added as Robin reached out for the computer, “I have one condition.”

“Which I’m not going to like?” Robin asked.

“I don’t think you’ll mind it too much.” Slade told him. “I need you to keep my involvement in your arrest to yourself. You were set up, of course, and I’m willing to provide a cover story, but keep my name out of it.”

“Scared?” Robin smirked.

Slade snorted. “I’d like to work without having the JL on my tail, and they will be hounding me if I have to kill Batman.”

“You’d… you’d kill him?” the hero asked worriedly.

“Yes. But only because he’d come after me,” the man told him seriously. “And your anger and hate would urge him on.”

“I- I wouldn’t…” Robin started, but his voice faltered because he didn’t know what to say, or if what he wanted to say was true.

“I don’t blame you,” Slade told him solemnly. “What I did to you… Maybe I deserve to die for that, but I don’t intend it to be by someone else’s hand.”

Robin was stunned, speechless, by the man’s words. Red was looking equally dumbfounded.

“Are… you…?” Robin shook his head and tried again. “Are… you apologizing?”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far,” the man smirked a little. “I might have misjudged your character in the beginning.”

“So… you don’t think I… deserved it?”

“You might not remember, but I answered that question last night, No, you didn’t deserve what happened to you. And it got out of hand as well. Me having to go on that mission was not part of my plan, and it might have truly hurt you.”

“You hurt me, though. You raped me.” Robin’s voice wasn’t angry, he was just trying to understand.

“Yes. I did. I have never tried to pretend otherwise, and like I told you back then, I did it because I wanted to. But I also thought I needed to punish you. Break you. I hadn’t needed to do that. That was my biggest mistake in all this, misjudging you.”

“Oh, because I kinda think setting me up and sending me to prison in the first place is rather high on that list as well,” Robin drawled.

“Pft. Details,” the man snorted and did a dismissive gesture. “Do we have a deal, then? You’ll keep my involvement quiet?”

“For Batman’s sake yes. Not that I think you can take him,” Robin added, though that might just have been a small lie.

Slade just gave him a look like he saw through that fib, and then shrugged. “Good enough for me. You can call him whenever it suits you. Take the computer to your room if you want.”

“What time is it?” Robin asked, looking around for a clock. “And day?” he added, realizing that he had no idea.

“Nine in the morning,” Slade supplied. “And it’s Sunday.”

“I’ll wait until the afternoon, then,” Robin decided, although it almost hurt. “He’s most likely sleeping. Or should be.”

“I’ll leave that up to you.”

“About you driving me there… you can’t get me a bike? Or a car? I can drive there myself.”

“You only have your ID showing you’re fifteen. It’s not worth the money getting you a driver’s license for a few hour’s drive, and if you get pulled over… It’s a stupid risk to take.”

Old Robin would have scoffed at that risk, but new Robin was a bit too paranoid about the police to dare, so he just nodded.

“Um… Rob?” Red asked.

“Yeah?”

“Um, so… well… you can’t go back to being… you know... Robin, right?”

Robin gave Slade a cold glare, but then looked back at the thief and shook his head. “I suppose not. But I have been thinking. I was trialed as Robin. As far as the law is concerned, Dick Grayson has done nothing wrong. I guess I’ll just be Richard for a while… I might be able to go back to the Titans under a new name, later… I’m just not sure I feel up for it right now, though… Can I call them on this too?” he asked Slade, gesturing to the laptop.

The man nodded, and looked thoughtful. “I’ll make sure to clear your name,” he said.

“What?” Robin gaped.

“It’s the least I can do. I’m sure my clients made sure to make things reversable, they are pretty good at that. Or, an easier way might be the official rout… There won’t be any records from the prison, and the government might be very, very interested in buying your silence with a clean slate. Would you like me to look into it?”

“Yes, of course!” Robin exclaimed. “Right the hell now!”

Slade chuckled. “All right. I’ll go work on it ‘right the hell now’. Entertain yourselves for a few hours. Locked doors stay locked.”

“Is it safe to go outside?” Robin asked, looking through the window longingly.

Slade went up to a wall panel and punched in a string of numbers. “It is now, everything apart from the outer parameters is off. Lunch will be at one.”

Robin stepped out on the deck and took a very deep breath of the fresh morning air. It was lovely. It was basically heaven. It was going to be an amazing summer day, and, as of now, it wasn’t too hot yet.

“There’s a pool!” Red called out from around the other side of the building. “Let’s go swimming later!”

“Mm-hmm…” Robin half agreed, sinking down on a patch of lawn, face towards the sun, just soaking it in. Red kept exploring but soon got bored and declared that he was going inside. Robin just hummed again, but remained where he was. He was, in a way, meditating, but instead of emptying his mind, he was sorting through it. His experiences, his emotions. It was confusing and sometimes painful, but being outdoors, being safe, in the sun, somehow soothed it all, like a giant mental band aid. He had missed the sun and sky so much.

He brought the image of Slade up in his mind and tried to decide what he felt. Slade had used the word hate, and yes, last night that had been true. Now, he wasn’t too sure. The feeling of betrayal kind of overpowered it, but that feeling was confusing on its own. Why would you feel betrayed when your enemy treated you like garbage? Wouldn’t that be expected? So that meant that he hadn’t seen Slade as his enemy, not really, not for a while. Red had teased him about liking the man. Robin was ashamed to admit that maybe, just maybe, he had been… charmed by him. But only because of the unique situation they had been in, where others were a greater enemy, a greater threat. The best thing would be, Robin decided, if he could just turn off all emotions when it came to the man. The problem, of course, was that he had had feelings for him since the very first time they had met. Fear, awe, attraction. Yes, Robin had to admit the last one to himself, although reluctantly. Long before he knew what the mercenary looked like, he had been attracted to him. To his body, skill, mannerism, voice… And it didn’t hurt that the man’s face had turned out to be attractive to Robin as well. Not everyone might find him hot, but he was definitely Robin’s type. Manly. Mature. Hard. The teen felt a stirring between his legs when the last word entered his mind, but quickly pushed it down. It was the man’s face that looked hard. Nothing else. Nope. Nothing at all.

Robin snorted, annoyed with himself, and slowly opened his eyes. He had been out here for quite a while by now, and he felt the slight tightening of the skin on his face that meant that he should probably get out of the sun. He should also call the Titans. He was putting it off, though, because it scared him. Calling Bruce too. He didn’t know why, it made no logical sense, he just… dreaded it.

He picked himself off the grass and walked inside. He grabbed the computer off the table, and, blinking, trying to see properly after being outside in the sunlight, he walked into his bedroom. Only, it wasn’t his. He spotted as much immediately, as it was much bigger than he remembered from this morning. A naked Slade walking out from the bathroom was also a hint. The man was busy drying his hair and didn’t see him for a few seconds. Robin, on the other hand, had frozen in place.

“I’d ask if you missed me, but you probably just chose the wrong door, didn’t you?” the man asked. His wet hair was almost white again, it was now a very light sandy color. Robin thought it looked quite good. Actually, all of the man looked-

“Yeah, sorry!” the teen said, turned on his heel and headed for the door.

“I’ll start lunch in a bit, you have about an hour to make a call if you want to do it now,” Slade told him calmly from behind.

“Yeah… I’m… calling my team,” Robin spluttered and left.

It took a few deep breaths more to finally patch into the Titan’s communication’s system. The first person he saw was Beast Boy, looking wide eyed up at the screen.

Robin froze, only being able to stutter out a cracked ‘Hi!’.

“CY!” the changeling called out, with a bit of panic in his voice.

“What?” the older Titan asked and came into view.

“This dude just appeared on our screen!” Beast Boy told him, gesturing to Robin.

“Who are you, what do you want?” the cyborg asked him, quite harshly.

Robin felt cold. It was like his worst nightmare was coming true. They didn’t recognize him. His logical side came to the rescue. His hair color had changed, as well as his hairstyle, as it was now falling down into his eyes. He was wearing civilian clothes. No mask. 

“Guys, it’s me,” he was finally able to say. By now Raven and Starfire was in view as well, looking pensive.

“R-Robin?!” Star called out, and suddenly it all seemed to click for them. The next twenty minutes were mainly a cacophony of questions, but eventually it settled down somewhat.

“Mammoth said you’d probably escaped!” Beast Boy suddenly told him.

“Mammoth! Oh my god, I haven’t thought about him, he made it? And is he back in Jump so soon? How?!”

“Apparently he hitched a ride with a little old lady, borrowed her phone and had the H.I.V.E extract him,” Cyborg told him.

Robin shook his head and laughed. “Man, talk about dumb luck. Literally,” he said.

“That place… Mammoth has actually talked to us quite a bit. It was… bad, wasn’t it?” Raven asked.

“Very,” Robin mumbled. Then he noticed his teem looking very awkward and blushing.

“Is… Is it the truth… that…” Starfire began.

“Mammoth insisted that…” Raven started.

“Man, this sounds cray-cray, but he kinda said…” Cyborg tried to take over.

“Dude, did Slade fuck you?” Beast Boy finally cut to the core.

Robin felt his face turn red. This was not something he had wanted his team to know. Next time he saw Mammoth he’d kick the guy in the balls so hard that he’d spit them out!

“It’s… complicated,” he said. “Slade… He saved my life, he was my… protector in there. Without him I’d probably not be alive now,” he said, ignoring that fact that without Slade, he wouldn’t have ended up in prison in the first place. He had promised not to tell Bruce about that little detail and didn’t think telling the Titans would be such a good idea either. “We had to… act in a certain way, to keep up appearances, and… certain things happened.”

“Phew, I mean... good thing it was just an act,” Cyborg said looking relived, hearing what he wanted to hear, Robin suspected.

“When are you coming home?” Starfire asked.

“I’m… not sure. I’m going to Gotham first and foremost,” Robin said. “Slade has promised to help me clear my name, but with everything… I think I need some time off. Maybe do something else for a while. Does… that make any sense?”

“As long as you need, dude, just keep in touch,” Cyborg told him.

“And talk to us,” Raven added. “Any time.”

“Is it true that Red X was in there too?” Beast Boy asked curiously, and then they spent another talking about the escape. Robin carefully avoided anything about how close he had been with Slade.

“Robin, lunch,” the man’s voice was heard through the door.

“Coming!” the teen called out. “Guys, I have to go. I’ll call again from Gotham in a few days or so, ok? And I’ll be contacting Batman this afternoon, so keep all this to yourselves for now.”

“Of course,” Raven nodded.

“I hope your meal will be most pleasant!” Starfire called and waved.

Robin said goodbye and waved as well, before breaking the connection. He didn’t think Slade would mind him talking to the Titans whenever he wanted, but he… didn’t want to. Well he wanted to, but it was also exhausting, and he was afraid to slip up somehow.

During lunch he filled Red and Slade in on what had been said, to a certain extent.

“Well, I’m glad Mammoth made it, in a way,” Red shrugged. “I mean, I don’t know the guy, not really, but he was set up as well… in a way.”

“I appreciate you keeping me out of things,” Slade nodded.

“I’m not stupid, it would reach Batman one way or the other if the Titans had reason to hate you,” Robin sighed. “Oh, and Red: if you ever, somehow no matter how unlikely, gets questioned about… well… me and Slade…. I told the Titans that it was basically an act. I’d appreciate if you back up that story.”

“Sure. Both of you are amazing actors. Method actors, actually.”

“Shut up,” Robin muttered while Slade seemed to be disguising a chuckle with a small cough. “Besides,” the teen added haughtily, “You seem to have bought the medias misconception about what method acting _actually_ entails.”

“Can I hit him?” Red asked Slade.

“Not at the table,” the mercenary told him.

“Hey!” Robin objected to the lack of defense.

“If you want me to be your protector again, all you have to do is ask,” the man smirked.

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t,” Robin snorted and focused on his pasta. “You can become my cook, though,” he offered.

“Well, if the offers dry up during the pandemic, I’ll be in touch,” the man promised. “I’m sure Alfred and I will get along marvelously. I always liked that man.”

“Who’s Alfred?” Red asked.

“Our butler,” Robin explained. “You know him?” he asked Slade.

“We’ve met,” the man told him.

“You have a butler?” Red gaped. “That’s it, I’m gonna hit you twice now.”

Robin chuckled, but realized how entitled the whole thing sounded.

“I’ll leave you two to do the clean up again,” Slade told them. “I’m going to work for a few hours. You won’t be able to enter the area, so just play nice. There’s a screening room at the back if you haven’t found it, and there’s snacks in the kitchen if you want.”

“Snacks? At your place?” Red exclaimed.

“Well, I knew I had you two to feed, I thought you’d appreciate some,” the man shrugged.

“That’s actually worriedly thoughtful, are you sure prison didn’t give you a stroke or something?” the red head asked. “Ow!” he added, clutching his head, when the man had cuffed him as he passed by. “Maybe not. Robin? Pool time?”

“Yeah, sure,” the teen said, eager to enjoy more of the outside.

“Just be careful, I don’t have any sun block,” Slade told them.

“Guess you can’t think of everything, huh?” Robin couldn’t help but taunt the man.

“Guess not,” was the only reply.

“What, he gets away with that? You still want to do him, don’t you?” Red snorted. “Simp!”

“Maybe start doing the dishes before you start annoying me, thief,” Slade grunted.

“Oh. Yeah. Chores. Family life just isn’t for me,” Red sighed, but started collecting the plates.

“Robin, a word?” Slade asked and gestured towards the hallway.

Robin nodded, his pulse speeding up as he followed the man into his bedroom.

“I just wanted to say, privately, that I meant it,” Slade told him, once the door had closed behind them.

“Meant… what?” the hero wanted to know.

“If you need me. Now or in the future…” the man said, handing him a card with a hand written phone number.

“If I have a phone this number will connect to it. If not, record a message and my people will get it to me. Don’t include details, of course, but you’re not an idiot.”

“Why? And why would I ever want to call _you_?” Robin tried to sound disdainful, but felt quite differently.

“To answer the first question… maybe I feel that I owe you something. I’d like to repay that debt. I have started the process of clearing the name, by the way. You will be contacted, discreetly, in a few weeks at most. They knew about your identity, but it’s not like they would tell anyone. The second question…” the man hesitated. “Isn’t as easily answered. But if you ever use the number, I guess we’ll find out.”

“Well…” Robin sighed. “Thank you. I’d like to throw this card in your face, but like you pointed out, I’m not an idiot. Connections are good to have, after all, especially if they owe you something. Please don’t look so damn proud.”

“I just like to think that I was able to teach you something,” the mercenary chuckled. Robin gasped as the man’s hand suddenly, very lightly, caressed his cheek, tilting his head up. For a moment Robin thought the man would try to kiss him. For a moment he was pretty sure he’d let him. “I absolutely hate having messed this up, Robin,” the man said seriously. “And if I saw a way out of it, I’d take it. Including locking you up in the basement for a few years. But the only thing to do is let you go.”

“You’re just missing the sex,” Robin snorted, feeling very vulnerable all of a sudden. “And that’s stupid, you can have great sex with Red, for crying out loud! Or anyone!”

“A great fuck, sure,” Slade shrugged and withdrew his hand. “But great sex? No.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

The man chuckled. “Call me after a few relationships, and let’s talk then,” he said.

“Sure,” Robin muttered. “Are you done?”

“Apparently.”

The teen left, irritated with himself. Irritated that he had wanted that kiss, irritated that talking about Red and Slade doing it still made him feel livid, and irritated that the number in his pocket made him so… happy?

“I’m sick,” he whined to Red out by the pool a bit later.

“Maybe get out of the pool, then?” the now slightly more redheaded teen suggested.

“Not like that. Like… perverted…”

“Ooookay, seems I need to get _into_ the pool!” was the enthusiastic answer.

Robin just groaned and leaned his head against the edge. The pool was a small one, but with a jet stream to swim against. It was clearly built more for exercise than anything else.

“I’m… just… it’s Slade.”

“The fact that you like him?” Red asked jokingly. When he didn’t get a reply, he added. “Oh.”

“Yeah. How sick and wrong is that? He trapped me in the prison of hell and raped me!”

“Yeah, not going on the pro-side those things…” Red admitted. “He likes you too, though. Not that that should matter.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Are you kidding me?! You could walk up to him and kick him in the balls, and he would kill _me_!”

“Well, it _was_ your idea,” Robin smirked.

“You know what I mean. I’ve never seen Slade feel bad about anything before, and he’s done some shifty shit.”

“Which makes me even more sick in the head,” Robin groaned. “Besides, remember on the way here? He basically bragged that I wouldn’t like the truth!”

“Well, as I see it, that’s because one of two things: either he didn’t mean to tell you the whole truth back then or… it was that detaching thing…”

“The what thing?”

“I don’t know what it’s called! But, like… you don’t think someone’s really into you, right, or that you don’t deserve them, so you treat them like shit so they take off?”

“Is that a thing?” Robin asked. “That’s so… sad.”

“Yeah, well, it’s like protecting your own feelings, in a way?” Red said. “I don’t know, I’m not a scientist!”

“Psychologist?”

“Whatever!”

“Push them away before they can hurt you. Yeah. I can see that…” Robin mumbled.

“Doesn’t mean you should just forgive him, though,” Red said.

“I… guess not…?” the hero, who actually felt a bit disappointed hear that, said.

“Well… at least not now. Not when you’re still in the middle of it.”

“You are a very wise thief.”

“Yup. Don’t tell anyone, my reputation would be ruined,” Red said. “Tsunami warning!” he then yelled and cannonballed into the pool.

After an hour, Robin bit the bullet and called Bruce. It wasn’t like he expected the man to get angry or anything, it was just that he had a way of seeing through him, greater than even Slade’s. It felt good afterwards, though. Robin had, again, presented Slade as a ‘good guy’ of sorts, and Bruce had bought it surprisingly easily. “I’ve worked both with him and against him. He sticks to his ethics,” Bruce had nodded. “I’m glad he was there for you.”

The teen had kept a carefully blank face, and the call was soon over. Robin had promised to let him know when they were to expect him, and told Slade as much over dinner. Again, the man had cooked, barbecue this time, and Robin stuffed his face almost as much as Red.

Slade had agreed to the call, and told them that Red’s things were on their way, and would probably arrive late tomorrow, meaning they could leave the day after.

“I still need a place to stay,” Red reminded them.

“You can stay here for a while,” Slade offered. “I’m looking through work offers but the market is rather uncertain, especially with limited traveling. I might wait out the whole pandemic here.”

“Or you can come with me?” Robin offered. “Stay at the mansion? See the Batcave? Apartment hunting in Gotham?”

“My family loves me!” Red exclaimed but then just smiled warmly at them both. “Seriously, thank you. Robin, it sounds awesome, but I’m thinking I’d like to live in New York, and this place is close, after all. Do you have any real estate buddies in New York?” he asked Slade.

“Better, I have a penthouse I’ve been thinking of selling. You can have that.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

“At market value.”

“Oh. Well. Still.”

“With what I’m paying you, you can afford it. It’s not in the most expensive parts of town, but decent. And if you promise to do me a favor or two, I might knock some of the price off.”

“New York, here I come!”

“I’ll show it to you tomorrow,” Slade said.

“Is it safe? To leave here?” Robin asked, feeling a flash of dread.

“As safe as it could be, I’m sure. We’ll only be gone a few hours. You can stay here if-”

“No, I’ll come!” Robin hurriedly confirmed. He didn’t want to be left alone here, not knowing if the others were ok.

The next day he was standing on a terrace, looking out over New York.

“You seem to be deep in thought?” Slade asked behind him.

“Yeah. I’m thinking that this might be what I need. A new city,” he said.

“There’s a second bedroom that’s currently a gym, and I don’t think Red would mind,” Slade told him.

Robin chuckled. “Nah. Alone, in that case, I think. But I also don’t think I’m ready. Not quite yet.”

“Understandable. He seems to approve. Should we leave? His papers are in town, we’re picking them up on the way back.”

Robin nodded. Red was excited, and understandably so, as the apartment was great. Like Slade had said it wasn’t in the richest parts of the city, but it looked like it could have been. He was buying it furnished as well, they had agreed, so he could basically just pick up some essentials and move in. After a look from Robin, Red declared that he’d do so tomorrow, though, after Slade and Robin had left for Gotham. The hero was grateful, he didn’t want to be alone with Slade overnight. Not because he didn’t trust the man, but because he didn’t quite trust himself…

The car ride the next day was a bit awkward. They mostly spent it in silence or discussing very, very neutral subjects.

Slade opted to let him off outside the gates.

“Take care, Robin,” the man said.

“You too,” was all the teen could think of saying, and then he got out. The car drove away. And that was it.

**_Epilogue_ **

Robin was deeply asleep. He was currently studying at a university in New York and as Red had decided to travel the world for a year, to celebrate that Covid 19, after almost two years, now was over, Robin was subletting his apartment.

It had been rough, in the beginning, trying to find a new mission in life. He had also been plagued with nightmares and certain forms of social anxiety that he had never experienced before all this. He thought it would get batter after he was cleared, but it didn’t. In the end he had decided to talk to Leslie Thompkins, their medical confidant and friend, and she agreed to try her hand at healing his mind for a change. At their third meeting he broke down and told her everything. Absolutely everything. After that, it got… easier. She helped him set small, attainable goals which still pushed him in the right direction. It also helped him decide not to return to the superhero world, at least not for a good while. He had to deal with some guilt associated with that, but once he decided to study, he felt that motivated the choice. And he enjoyed school. The goals, the deadlines, applying himself, it suited him. He didn’t quite know what he wanted to ‘be’ in the future, but law and psychology were high on the list right now.

It had been absolutely great. Until someone heavily sat down on his bed in the middle of the night.

“Wha-” Robin started and then his throat was grabbed, cutting off his voice as well as his air.

“Who are-” someone barked and then, “Robin?”

“Slade?!”

The man turned on the lights and the two stared at each other.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Slade asked.

“Me? What are _you_ doing here, this is Red’s place!”

“He’s on vacation, I contacted him just the other day. I have just gotten off a plane from Russia, I’ve been awake for three days straight and I’m here to sleep. Figured it was empty.”

“Yeah, well, you have to get a hotel room,” Robin told him.

Slade looked at him, Robin could practically feel his gaze over his body, and wished he had more than his underwear on. “No.”

“No? You can’t say no! Get out!” Robin exclaimed.

“No. I’m too tired.” The man removed his shirt, and at some point, before he got into bed, he must have chucked his pants off too. “You can yell at me tomorrow morning. Or possibly tomorrow evening. I’m going to sleep.”

With that, the man put the lights out again and simply got under the covers.

Robin gaped but he heard the man’s breathing change almost immediately. He really _had_ been exhausted. There was nowhere else to sleep, as the sofa wasn’t that great, and the bed was big enough, so Robin sighed and laid back down. He had barely done that before Slade turned in his sleep and slipped an arm around him from behind.

“Mine,” he heard the man mumble in his sleep.

“In your dreams!” Robin snorted but, as he fell asleep, there was a small smile on his lips.

_The End._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Canon Slade somewhat recently intentionally killed a girl’s dog, later felt a bit guilty and got her a puppy. Canon Slade is… complicated… and not great at apologies…
> 
> So, there it is! And yes, yes, I veered into the light more and more in this story, I know some of you prefer them to be pitch black, but Slade is NOT a pitch black character, so I find it so difficult to write him like that… I hope it was enjoyable either way. Love to hear from you! I will now take a break, most likely a quite long one, but I AM going to open my “Black Sheep 5” file (yes, it exists) and see if there’s anything I get inspiration to work with…
> 
> As usual, suggestions (not demands!) are welcome.  
> All the best!  
> Wynja

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE leave a review? First impression? Is there something you’d like to see/not like to see? No promises, of course, but plot bunnies ARE welcome for this story.


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